Who Are You and What Have You Done With Naru?
by Kazooboid
Summary: Wait, Naru's being kind, compassionate and is caring about Mai's wellbeing?... WTF is this?  A Naru x Mai story, rated T just to be safe
1. Chapter 1  Hot Tea and Late Nights

**I just finished watching Ghost Hunt for the second time…. Waaaghh! Naru's nearly-dying-thing was so adorable… I mean, you know, I didn't thin kthe while dying thing… Just Mai's little speech in the hospital made me feel all choked up….**

**Anyway, I had written a different chapter to a story like this and it sucked big time so I decided to completely re-do it. This is what my imagination spat out… Enjoy ^.^**

**Chapter 1: Hot Tea and Late Nights**

"Ugh! I was late _again_ for school today, all because it takes so long to get there from my place…" Mai groaned, stomping into the office. Naru glanced up.

_Why is he even interested? My rants usually just bore him._

"Hey, Mai." Monk's head popped out from around the door.

"Hey, monk. What are you doing here?"

"Well actually, I just came to see if you guys wanted to get together tonight. We've planned something, even Masako has agreed." Monk explained.

"That sounds great!" Mai replied excitedly. "Oh…. Wait. I we go out tonight, the Friday traffic will be bad… By the time I get back, it'll be really late, and I have to walk a couple streets to get to my house…"

Naru looked up quickly. "Alone? In the dark?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah…" Mai nodded miserably. Naru shrugged.

"If you really want to go, I'll walk you home afterwards." Mai's heart leapt.

"Really? That'd be great, Naru! Thanks so much!" She smiled at him. Naru blinked, then went back to his work. It only took a matter of seconds for the familiar command to ring through the air: _tea._

"Stupid narcissist…." Mai grumbled as she poured the tea leaves into the tea pot. Monk had had to leave, seeing as he was meeting up with Ayako and John before they all went out.

When the tea was done, Mai carried it to Naru's room. She hadn't bothered to ask Lin if he wanted tea, as she was busy processing what Naru had said to her. Why did he care so much whether she made it home okay?...

She knocked on Naru's door, then opened it. Naru looked up at her for a second, then back down at his papers. Mai set the tea down on his desk, but just as she was about to turn away, he reached out and gently caught her wrist. She turned round to be met with a pair of dark eyes.

"I do… Care about you being safe, Mai…" Naru said softly. Mai's heart pounded quickly. How did he know she had been thinking about that? Was he a mind reader or something?

"O-oh… Thanks…" Mai turned away quickly, and walked out of the room, only to bump into Lin.

"Mai, I want some tea too. And why are you blushing so much?" Lin asked, annoyed.

From inside his office, where no one else could see him, Naru smiled to himself.

…

"Thanks, Monk. I had a really great night, too." Mai replied cheerfully. The others smiled and nodded in agreement.

"I was scared for a while during the movie." Ayako admitted. Mai nodded, and then paused for a second.

"…So that's why you were so close to Monk? You were scared, and needed protection?..." Mai said quickly. Ayako went red, and the others laughed, especially monk.

"Hmph! Honeslty, Mai. You should… Learn to respect your elders!" Ayako babbled, looking embarrassed. She turned on her heel and walked away, pulling monk with her. John and Mai raised their eyebrows at each other, and started laughing again.

…

"Thanks again for doing this, Naru." Mai says, smiling. Naru stayed silent, on alert.

"Gee… It sure is dark out here." Mai whispered, looking around. She moved closer to Naru, who turned and stared at her.

"You're not scared of that stupid movie, are you?" He asked quietly.

"No… Not really…"

"Who're you kidding Mai, you're freaking out." He replied, glancing over at the pale teenager. She had wide eyes, and was whipping her head back and forth, checking the shadows.

Naru reached for her hand, and held it tight.

"Still scared?" He whispered.

"Not any more…"

…

"Goodnight, Mai."

"Wait…" An owl hooted, and Mai jumped, nearly falling over. Naru impulsively reached out his arms and caught her, but in a second, pushed her away.

"Stay with me a while?" Mai asked hopefully, expecting a no.

"Alright."

…

Naru and Mai sat on her sofa, sipping some freshly made tea. Naru looked around with disapproving eyes – it was very untidy and unorganised. He shook his head. How could people live like this?

They sat in silence for a while, until Naru broke the silence.

"Mai… This place is a bit of an inconvenience for you, isn't it?" Naru asked quietly.

"Yeah, I guess… It's so far away, but it's the only place the school could find for me." Mai replied.

"Hm. Well, how about this. I live next to the office, and near your school. Why don't you just move in with me? I have a spare room." Naru said with confidence.

Mai's jaw hit the floor. In the process of her shock, she managed to spill tea on herself. It was still hot, so it hurt a little bit.

After Mai had cleaned herself up, she went back to the lounge. Naru hadn't moved.

"Um, if it's okay with you, Naru, I'd be quite happy to move in with you." Mai said sheepishly. She couldn't really belive she was saying that.

Little did she know, when she said those fateful words, Nar's heart leapt, and he nearly (_nearly_) smiled.

**Soooo? You like? Cos if you do, then PLZ review!**


	2. Chapter 2  Moving In

**OMG I was writing chapter 2 when I forgot about Mai moving in DXXXX **

**Life. Over. Oh well :3**

**Chapter 2: Moving In**

"How do you have so much stuff?" Naru groaned.

"I dunno… I've just got to fit everything into one room! I don't know how I'll do it…" Mai said. Naru was dealing with the big boxes with Lin, and Mai was taking things like cups and plates.

Luckily Naru lived on the second floor, and the building had a lift, so it wasn't too hard. Naru was still complaining a lot though.

"Get the tea stuff, Mai, and make me some tea." Naru moaned.

"Fine, fine." Mai grunted, travelling back down the steps (the lift would take too lon).

She picked up the box of tea things and walked back up the stairs, into the the flat and then to the kitchen. As the water boiled, Mai looked around the flat.

Typical Naru, everything was neat and organised. IT looked good though, she had to admit. It was quite modern but was still a bit traditional. One room had a balcony, large enough to put a chair and able outside, which was a bonus.

Naru had been telling the truth, it was close to her school and the office. It was pretty convenient as well because it was in the centre of the city.

She walked back to the kitchen and prepared three cups of tea.

Mai first walked to the lounge which was also sort of the kitchen. There was just a wall with a window in it that was open at one end that separated them. To the left of the kitchen / lounge was the door and a bathroom, and Naru's room was to the right.

Mai set the tea down on the table, and took one cup to her new room. Shelves were built into the wall, which was a plus. Her bed was against the wall opposite the door. There wasn't a window, but it was still nice.

As she set down the tea on her bedside table, she heard the door open. Naru set a box down and began to walk towards her.

"Mai, I need-" Just as Mai turned round, Naru tripped over a box and fell forwards, landing on top of Mai, and ending up half on, half off the bed.

Their breathing was heavy as they stared into each others eyes, not sure how to react. So they didn't. That is, until Lin walked in.

"Naru-" Lin dropped the box he was carrying in shock, turned and walked out the room.

"Damn." Naru sighed. He lifted himself off Mai, and immediately walked to the door. But before he left, he turned around and gave Mai an embarrassed, half smile.

…

Mai had stayed in her room for a while, sorting her stuff out, drinking tea and mulling over what just happened. As soon as Naru left, she could hear him trying to convince Lin that nothing had happened, he had just tripped… Lin didn't buy it.

**I'm sorry that this is so short, I can't write any more! So here's a spoiler for the next chapter :3**

"What kind of thing to you think we're dealing with here?" Mai asked, fitting a monitor into place.

"I need Masako to determine my theory, but I believe that there is one spirit here, which is possessing Kaiamo. This is because there have been no other unusual phenomena, such as objects moving on their own." Naru replied quietly.

**Hope you like! I'll probably update tomorrow anyway, seeing as I've got such a good response. :D**


	3. Case 1: The Double Spirit, Part 1

**And I'm bored so guess what… Another chapter! **

**I just checked my emails… Thanks for all the story alerts and reviews :3**

**I forgot to say before, I don't own Ghost hunt. Or John, or monk, and I REALLY wish I owned Naru, but don't we all…. :'(**

**Chapter 3, Case 1: The Double Spirit, Part 1**

The ride to work surprisingly wasn't awkward. Naru talked to Mai, which was a change.

…

"Hey, Mai!" Monk said, pulling the teenager into a tight hug, catching her by surprise.

"wagh?-" Mai's muffled protests didn't stop him.

"Monk, get off Mai. Mai, make me some tea." Naru's voice was cold.

"Do I detect some jealousy? Don't worry, your girl is all yours now, Naru." Monk replied, releasing Mai. The other smiled and laughed. But Naru just glared at them and stormed into his office.

"What the hell was that? What did he mean? Does he think I'm not good enough? Is that it?" Ayako had to restrain Mai. She calmed down pretty quick, though.

…

The team had been given a case at a school, unfortunately not at Yasu's school. A student had come to see them called Yuki, talking about her possessed friend, who had recently become violent towards her fellow students.

Mai set the tea down on the table.

"Did anything else weird happen?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah." The girl nodded. "She's become obsessed with this girl, her name is Hatsume… My friend, Kaiamo, she follows Hatsume around, threatening her, talking about death and stuff. It's really creepy, Hatsume is starting to stay at home. The teachers just say that it's bullying and not anything new, but all of us students are scared.

"Does Kaiamo hurt any other students?" Naru asked.

"Yeah… Look." Yuki pulled back her sleeve. Mai gasped. Angry, red claw marks covered the girl's arm.

"I was only trying to help…" Tears filled Yuki's eyes. Mai sat next to her and examined the cut.

"It's deep… I wouldn't have thought any normal human could have done this…" Mai murmured. Yuki nodded, and continued.

"Anyone who tries to talk to her is hurt. It's only Hatsume who can talk to her. But we think that this is probably bad… And that's all I know."

…

Naru took the case.

As they set up the equipment, Mai chatted to Naru and Lin.

"What kind of thing to you think we're dealing with here?" Mai asked, fitting a monitor into place.

"I need Masako to determine my theory, but I believe that there is one spirit here, which is possessing Kaiamo. This is because there have been no other unusual phenomena, such as objects moving on their own." Naru replied quietly.

…

Masako arrived pretty quickly.

"I can only feel one spirit right now, Naru." She said, eyes closed. "It's quite strong, though."

"Clearly the work of an-"

"-earth spirit." Everyone finished, laughing. Ayako glared at them all. She turned around and walked to the other side of the room, suddenly busy with some papers.

…

"I think we should exorcise this spirit. But first, I wish for Lin to contact it." Naru said, organising a file on his desk, before handing it to Mai.

Lin looked up and nodded.

"It seems wise, as we don't know what we're dealing with here. It must be powerful if it has completely taken over Kaiamo." He said slowly, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear.

…

"Hey, Yuki." Mai said quietly. "Did you bring Kaiamo?" Yuki nodded, and turned to the door behind her.

"You can come in now." She called softly.

A shy girl entered the room. She barely looked at Mai for a second. Kaiamo had long, black hair that reached past her waist, and dark eyes that almost seemed to have no pupils.

"I need… To talk to you about something." Mai began hesitantly. What would trigger the spirit to react? She had to be careful.

"Um… Yuki's been saying that you've been acting strange. Especially to a girl named Hatsume…?" At this, Kaiamo's head shot up, and a horrifying grin was plastered to her face.

"Yes.. Hatsume." She spat. "She'll get what's coming to her… Eventually." Mai was shocked. How could someone say that?

"I'm sure you don't mean that." Mai said slowly. "Yuki said-"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HER?" Kaiamo whipped round, facing Yuki. Her arms reached out, and her fingers seemed to have grown longer, her nails sharper. Her voice as odd, too. It was low and raspy.

Yuki backed away, scared.

"Leave her alone! It's me who's talking to you!" Mai shouted. Kaiamo stopped, then turned around slowly.

"It is, isn't it?" Kaiamo whispered evilly. Mai gasped. Kaiamo's face was all distorted.

Without another word, Kaimo launched herself at Mai, ripping and shredding. Intense pain went through Mai's stomach, and quickly she could feel the warmth of blood. She tried to fend Kaiamo off, but it was hopeless. Mai had also hit her head when she had been attacked, so everything was going black.

"I'LL KILLL YOU! I'll KILL ALL OF YOU!" Kaiamo screamed, hitting, ripping with those horrible fingernails.

The door burst open. Everything was going grey. The SPR team ran in, and Lin whistled, so that some spirits pulled Kaiamo off Mai, who was quickly fading. Naru rushed to her side, looking panicked.

"Stay with me, Mai." He ordered.

"I… can't…" Mai whispered. Naru gripped her hand tightly. "Please!" He cried.

But then Mai lost consciousness.

**Sooo? What did you think? It's a bit freaky… I'm glad I'm doing a case. It's fun. At first I had no ideas but now I've got one in my head… Be ready for a surprise!**


	4. Case 1: The Double Spirit, Part 2

**Don't worry guys, Mai won't die. :) Btw Naru's a bit out of character here, sorry. **

**Chapter 4: Case 1: The Double Spirit, Part 2**

Mai was having one of _those _dreams again. Great. It usually involved her dying. As usual, it was dark to start with. Then, Mai could see a school. In fact, it was the school that Yuki, Kaiamo and Hatsume attended.

Except, it was from a while ago. There was some scaffolding over the North side of the campus. Curious, Mai wandered over to it. Slowly, as it came into focus, she could see two figures on the uppermost structure of the scaffolding. It was two girls. One of them looked a bit like Hatsume.

Suddenly, it was like she was inside one of the girls body. She was crying.

"Please… Stop this." Mai said weakly.

"Nah." The other girl replied. "It's too much fun to stop…" An evil smile spread across the other girl's face as she advanced on Mai. Mai took a few steps back, feeling the planks of wood shift under her feet.

"Please, Haruka. It's not safe up here. I only came here… To get away from you." Mai pleaded.

"Didn't do much good, did it?" Haruka snorted in response. Mai took a few more steps back, noticing that she was coming close to the edge.

"Why do you hate me?" She cried, wiping some of the tears on her sleeve.

"I don't _hate _you. I just like to make fun of you." Haruka sneered, taking another step forwards. Mai started moving back again.

"What is your problem? I just-" Mai had taken a step back too far, and she was falling, falling. Sheer terror filled her. She opened her mouth and a shrill scream filled the air. Everything went black when she hit the ground. Mai instantly knew that whoever that girl was, she had been killed.

…

Mai's brown eyes shot open quickly. The tears instantly started streaming down her face.

"Mai?" It was Naru. His head had shot up. "Oh, thank God you're awake." He whispered, gazing at her. Quickly, Naru stood and awkwardly wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. Pain shot through Mai's ribs and she gasped. Naru pulled back quickly.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, pulling away, much to Mai's disappointment.

"It's okay." She replied breathlessly. Naru sat back down, and put his head in his hands. Mai looked around. She was in a hospital room, and no one else was here.

"How long have I been… Out?" She asked quietly.

"Four days."

"What?" Naru looked up, and it was then that Mai noticed the dark shadows under his eyes. He was paler than usual as well.

"Naru, tell me you've been sleeping…"

"I can't. You might have woken up without me… I would never forgive myself for that." Naru replied slowly, not looking at Mai.

"What happened?"

"We came into the room, and found Kaiamo ripping you into ribbons." Naru winced as he said this. "Lin used his shiki to hold her off. I tried to get you to stay with me, but it wasn't enough… It hit me so hard, seeing you lying in pool of blood. II know I don't show it often, Mai, but I do care about you."

Mai's heart monitor's speed changed rather quickly, earning a small, half smile that was more like a grimace from Naru.

"How bad… Am I hurt?" Mai asked.

"A couple bruised and fractured ribs, multiple lacerations on your stomach, some bad head injuries, and twisted ankle." Naru sighed, staring at her again His expression of remorse turned to frustration, then anger.

"This is my fault." He growled, standing and starting to pace. "I encouraged you to see her. I thought it would be okay… How could I be so stupid?" He yelled.

"Naru!" Mai tried to sit up, but it only hurt her more. "I agreed. It's my fault. I shouldn't have been so stupid and reckless… Like always." Mai hung her head. Well, as best she could, because it was covered in bandages.

Naru turned her around, glaring at her.

"Don't blame this on yourself." He growled.

"I have to. I can't let you take the blame." Mai replied stubbornly.

Naru stayed silent for a while, then sat back down.

They didn't speak for a while.

…

Mai tried to move her hand, but found that some Iv's were stuck in it.

"Ugh…" She muttered, looking away, feeling nauseas. (**I can't stand things touching my wrist DX)**

"What's wrong?" Naru asked.

"The Iv… I can't move my hands…" Mai groaned, pulling a face. Naru stared at her, puzzled.

"You can handle spirits that are out to kill you, but not an IV?" He said, half-smiling. Mai glared at him.

Naru reached out slowly, his own dark eyes staring into her brown ones, asking for permission. Slowly, he wrapped his hand around hers.

"Feel better?" He whispered softly.

"Yeah, a bit." Mai replied, smiling.

They fell asleep together like this, clasping each other's hands. Somehow, they didn't let go.

…

"Aw, look at that!" Monk whispered, trying to contain a laugh. They had just walked in on Naru and Mai holding hands. They were both dozing peacefully.

John swayed and put a hand to his forehead.

"Mai's growing up…" He murmured, smiling weakly.

"Hey!" Monk said playfully, punching John's shoulder lightly (or what he thought was lightly). "I'm the big brother figure here!" John laughed a little and smiled.

"Naru would never forgive us if he woke up now…" Ayako murmured, smiling. "We should go."

…

"What happened with the case?" Mai asked groggily. She wanted to stretch, but couldn't, because of those damn Iv's.

"I haven't done anything with it yet." Naru replied coolly. "Seeing as I call the shots, and I've been here all this time, nothing has happened." Mai's face went red.

"What the Hell? Just because your boss doesn't mean that you can-" Naru smirked and stood up, cutting Mai off.

"I'll go see if we can get those Iv's out." He said, turning and leaving quickly. Mai glared after him.

'He acted so caring, but now he back to being a stupid narcissist. Honestly, sometimes I don't know how that guy's head works. Just when I thought I'd figured him out?...' She thought angrily, lying back into her pillow, exhaling sharply.

…

They took Mai's Iv's out while she was sleeping. Naru couldn't watch, because he couldn't stand seeing anymore of Mai's blood.

**Sooo? I wrote a nice big long chapter for you. It took a while, so be proud :3 **

**REVIEW**

**\/**


	5. Case 1: The Double Spirit, Part 3

**I have nothing to do :/ Well technically I have an art exam. (so I have nothing to do :L) Oh well I hope you guys like this. Cheers for the reviews :)**

**Chapter 5: Case 1: The Double Spirit, Part 3**

Mai was allowed to leave hospital the day after the time she woke up. She insisted working…

"Mai, you can't. You have bruised ribs and a head injury." Naru growled through gritted teeth.

"No, I have to work! I'm sick of you guys prioritising me just because I'm the one who's always attacked. It's nice being spoilt but it sucks when you treat me as inferior." Mai replied angrily.

"Go home."

"If I wasn't fine, I wouldn't have been allowed to leave the hospital." Mai shot back. Naru glared at her for a second.

"Fine. But you are to stay in the base and NOT leave without someone beside you, got it?" And with that, he turned on his heel and left the room. Mai sighed and sat down onto the sofa.

"What is his problem? First he acts all caring and now he's all horrible and narcissistic again… Maybe I dreamed that scene in the hospital?" She muttered. Ayako looked away from her book, who had been pretending to not listen to Mai and Naru's argument.

"Mai, he's doing this because he cares about you." She said.

"I don't buy it." Mai growled back, picking up her bag filled with homework. Ayako sighed and turned away. Those two really needed to get it into each other's head that they both liked each other.

After about ten minutes, Monk, John and Masako came into the base, accompanied by Naru, still in a bad mood. None of the rest of the team looked very cheerful, either. Clearly Naru had been taking his anger out on them.

"Tea, Mai." He said, without even looking at her. Mai felt a lump rise in her throat, but marched out of the room, refusing to let tears form in her eyes. As soon as she left, John was walking beside her.

'Oh yeah, I have to go _everywhere_ with people' Mai thought angrily to herself. She managed to smile for John, though.

…

"So what exactly are we going to do?" Monk asked.

"Well… I believe, according to Miss Hara, there is only one spirit present, and it is possessing Kaiamo. We need to exorcise it, seeing as it has become powerful." Naru replied, staring at a file in his hands.

"What, with no research on who the spirit is?" Ayako was surprised.

"No!" Mai cried, slamming her tea down onto the table. "She's just a girl, Naru, you can't destroy her spirit!"

It took a lot for Naru to look at her, but when he saw her, he noticed the glimmer of tears welling in her eyes.

"How do you know? Did you have a dream again?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah…" Mai said slowly, looking at her hands.

"Why don't you tell us these things sooner?..." Monk sighed, exasperated. Mai shrugged.

"She was a girl called… I actually don't know her name. But she was being targeted by a girl named Haruka. I could tell that this girl's life was made a living hell by Haruka." Mai shook her head in disgust. "They were on top of some scaffolding which was part of the school. The girl fell off the scaffolding by mistake… It was horrible." She shuddered, and stared into her tea cup.

The others stayed silent for a while, processing the new information.

"Was there anything else?" Lin asked.

"Yeah." Mai nodded. "I noticed that Haruka looked like Hatsume… Weird, huh?"

"Lin."

"Yes?"

"Look up the school's past records. See if there was anything to do with a girl having an accident when the school was under construction." Naru said, his eyes not leaving Mai's figure.

…

"Mai." Naru said. Mai looked up quickly and flinched, seeing that his face was quite close to hers. Naru sighed and moved so that he was sitting at his desk again.

"Lin found something. Fifty years ago, a girl called Akari Suzuki died on the campus because of the accident that you described. The girl who was present, Haruka, was not charged with anything, even accidental manslaughter, but did move away to a different school. The odd thing is… Hatsume is distantly related to that girl, Haruka." Mai gasped, but then looked confused.

"But if Akari is searching for Haruka seeking revenge, why not try to find Haruka? I mean, she has to still be alive, right?" She asked.

"She died in a car crash at the age of thirty six." Naru replied in a toneless voice. Mai grimaced.

"So Akari is going after Hatsume because she's the closest thing to Haruka?" Mai said slowly, piecing it together. Naru nodded.

"But if you exorcise a spirit, doesn't it destroy the spirit?" Mai asked, immediately coming to the defence of Akari, as usual.

"We have to, Mai. Monk said as he came through the already open door. "If we don't, and we simply cleanse Kaiamo, Akari will just possess someone else, as she is so strong."

Mai sighed.

"Fine." She growled.

…

John and Monk were going to do the exorcism in an empty classroom with only Naru and Kaiamo present. They hadn't really had a chance to set up the cameras and take temperatures due to Mai's accident, so they only had a camera and temperature reader in the room in which the exorcism was going to take place.

Due to the strength of Akari, they had decided to do their prayers at the same time, to both add to each others strength, and in a way, watch each other's backs. According to Naru and Lin, Akari wasn't powerful enough to attack them both at once.

"Namekusebazeduran…"

"In the beginning, the word was with God, and the word…" As the priest and monk chanted their prayers, the floor began to rattle. Kaiamo was sitting in a chair at the other side of the classroom, glaring at them both, looking like she was in pain. Her eyes were bloodshot and wild.

As the prayers became louder, the walls began to shake too, and Kaiamo curled up into a defensive position, covering her body with her arms, moaning, as if somehow trying to stop Akari from being released.

As the prayers finished, Naru called for Mai and Ayako to enter the room. They both began performing the nine cuts together.

"Ri!" Kaiamo's head shot up.

"Pyo!" She started to shake wildly.

"Ta!" Next, Kaiamo stood up, the chair falling to the floor.

"Sha!" The chair slid back, hitting the wall behind Kaiamo.

"Kai!" She took a step forward.

"Chi!" The lights flickered and went out.

"Rit!" Finally, Kaiamo launched herself at the pair of girls, making them finish quickly.

"Sai, YEN!" They cried. Just as Kaiamo was about to touch them, she stopped, and fell to the ground. A spirit flew out of her body and made a cracking sound, before fading away into nothingness.

There was one problem.

The spirit was a foxfire.

…

"What does this mean?" Mai groaned, resting her head on the back of the sofa. Kaiamo had being admitted to the school nurse, as she had fallen unconscious.

"I think we have a rather unusual case here. But first, I need to know something. Miss Hara, what are you feeling right now?" Naru asked. It was only then that Mai noticed how pale Masako was.

"I feel…. The presence of a very strong spirit… And it's coming from the nurses office. It must be Akari." She whispered. Naru nodded.

"The case is solved." He said.

"What?" Everyone cried.

"Listen to me. We are going to perform one more exorcism on Kaiamo tonight." Naru said, beginning to pack away his laptop and files.

"But I thought we had already got rid of what had possessed her!" Monk said, puzzled.

"True, but remember. Foxfires usually-"

"Can't possess people." Mai interrupted Naru, thinking.

"That's right. So why was it there? It wasn't it's own choice to possess Kaiamo." Naru continued.

"So something made it possess her, make the foxfire do the dirty work for them?" John asked, looking worried.

"Close, but not quite. You see, Akari is still inside Kaiamo. Akari manipulated a passing foxfire against its will into also possessing Kaiamo. This meant that if we eventually figured out her intentions, she wouldn't be exorcised, but the foxfire would be in her place." Naru explained.

"That's horrible!" Mai cried, going white. "Making someone, even a spirit, die in your place is an awful thing to do!" Tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill over. "That can't be Akari in there! She was a nice girl… I know that from my dream!" The tears started falling.

"Everyone, I would like you to leave. Except Mai." Naru ordered, draining his tea.

Tey left quickly, shooting odd glances at Mai.

"Even you, Lin."

Lin grumbled about leaving his one true love, his laptop (well, not the true love part, but it might as well be).

When they had gone, the door shut sharply, making Mai flinch. Naru sighed, and moved from his desk to the sofa, sitting close to her so that the sides of their bodies were touching.

"Mai…" He started off quietly. "I know this is hard for you, due to your nature. But you do realise we're going to have to exorcise Akari too?" This only made Mai cy harder. Naru awkwardly put his arm round her waist and let her cry into his shoulder.

When she was finished (which surprisingly didn't take that long,) Mai started to tallk again.

"I just don't understand… (insert hiccup) why she would do this. She was a good natured person who only wanted be accepted… Why would she do this?"

Naru, finally realising how close he and his assistant were at that moment, dropped his arm and moved to the other end of the sofa. But seeing Mai's sad face made him keep holding one of her hands.

"Spirits can change once they have possessed someone, or have been around for a long time. In this case, both these factors apply to Akari. Mai, she's not really Akari anymore." Naru said softly.

…

What am I doing here?... Mai thought. She was in the darkness again, which obviously meant that she was having a dream again. She hadn't remembered falling asleep, though.

"Your name is… Mai?" Mai turned round and gasped. Behind her was Akari. Not evil, manipulating, deadly Akari, but soft, shy and sad Akari.

"I never meant to hurt you." Akari whispered, a single tear rolling down her face. "I just… I'm so angry for what Hatsume did to me." Mai was shocked. So now Akari thought it was Hatsume who had killed her, not Haruka? This was getting weird.

Hesitantly, Mai took a step towards Akari, who didn't seem to notice. Slowly, Mai put her hand on the sobbing girl's shoulder.

"Akari… Hatsume didn't kill you." She said softly.

"What? Yes she did. I know she did. It was only a couple of months ago, of course I remember." Akari replied, glaring at Mai. Mai quickly dropped her hand from Akari's shoulder. Even though this was a dream, Akari may have still been able to hurt her.

"Akari, that was fifty years ago, in the sixties." Akari looked shocked. "And Hatsume wasn't alive then." Mai hurriedly continued. "It was a girl named Haruka, and it was an accident." Akari stared at Mai for a while.

Then, she whispered,

"I remember now. It was really partly my fault… So what happened to Haruka? Where is she now?"

Mai sighed sadly. "She died in a car crash at the age of thirty six."

"Oh… Well, I may see her in the next life. I'll tell her it wasn't her fault… That it was mine." A white glow began to show around Akari's body.

"Thank you, Mai, for telling me the truth, and letting me realise that I should not harm Hatsume, or anyone else in my anger." Akari smiled.

"Anytime." Mai smiled back. And with that, Akari's spirit had passed on, finally at peace.

…

"Mai." She woke to see Naru's face close to hers. She immediately went red, but couldn't move, because if she did, she might hit Naru in the face. (**I've got to put that in some later chapters :D**) Fortunately, he moved away a bit, and Mai sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"What happened?"

"You fell asleep, so we thought it would be good for us to do the exorcism while you were asleep. But we had barely started when Kaiamo just dropped to the floor, and Akari's spirit came out of her. She thanked you, Mai, for telling the truth. And then we think she passed on." Monk said, looking puzzled so that he resembled a lost puppy. It was cute.

"She did. She passed on." Mai smiled, remembering.

Naru sighed. "What did you do, Mai?"

"Hey! All I did was tell her the truth. She thought it was only a couple of months ago that… HEY! Why did you think I'd done something wrong? Clearly-"

The other members of SPR laughed (even Lin managed to smile a little) at their bickering. Another case solved.

**Look, I wrote you a big long chapter! I'm sorry if I got the nine cuts wrong, but if you are able to tell me the proper ones, then I would be grateful. I'm not going to go back and edit this chapter, but it would useful for future use. Also, I just couldn't think of how to spell Masako's last name (Miss. Hara) and I think it's quite important because it's how Naru always addresses Masako. Please tell me if I got that wrong too. But anyway, read and review, because this took me two freaking hours! DX**

**Btw, this isn't the end of the story, don't worry, just the case :)**


	6. Chapter 6 Cooking

**Meeeeh I'm SO bored. So I'm writing again ^.^**

**Please guys, rather than just favouriting the story, can you review? After this chapter I won't be writing anymore until we hit twenty reviews :(**

**Anyway, nagging aside, I'm going to take a break from cases, and do a few chapters on life in Naru and Mai's apartment.**

**Chapter 6: Cooking**

Mai had got home earlier than Naru, seeing as he wanted to work for another hour or so. Monk had kindly dropped her off at Naru and Mai's apartment.

She was bored, and was also hungry, so decided to make something. After flipping through a recipe book, she settled on some Ramen and a rice bowl to be different (I'm not good at Japanese food yet, okay? I don't know if those two dishes are meant to go together DX, I don't think so though).

First, Mai washed her hands and then poured some water into a pan and added the uncooked rice from a packet she found in a cabinet. While it was heating, she decided that she would make some Miso Ramen with noodles and nothing else, because she honestly couldn't be bothered with finding other ingredients like vegetables and eggs.

She then added some water to another pot, with some stock (she was cheating), some noodles and some salt. As it boiled, she went and changed into her usual shorts and t-shirt; she was planning on having a relaxed, stress free night.

When both the rice and ramen was nearly done, Mai heard a click at the door. Naru came in, sniffing the air.

"Do I smell Miso and rice?" He asked, hanging up his jacket before proceeding into the small kitchen.

"Oh, hey Naru." Mai blushed. She still wasn't used to them living together.

"It's a bit of an odd combination…" He said, staring at the two pots on the cooker. Mai shrugged, then realised that she hadn't made any for him.

"Oh, Naru! I'm so sorry, I forgot to make you some! I'll just-" As Mai began frantically searching for more rice, Naru caught her arm and turned her round.

"It's okay. There's quite a lot; why don't we just share?" Mai nearly choked. She thought it would be inappropriate to mention how hungry she was now (and that was why there was so much food), so didn't mention it, only nodding.

Naru threw her a half smile before walking away into his room to drop off his stuff.

Mai sat on the counter, her head drooping. Why did he always have to do that?... Surely he doesn't realise how inappropriate this is for an assistant and her boss?...

Not that Mai would mind. She just hoped it wouldn't be another one of those times when Naru suddenly realised what he was doing, and would go and sulk somewhere.

When the food was done, Mai put the rice in one bowl and the ramen in another.

She went to the sofa and set the food on the table, and then went back to the kitchen to search for chopsticks, but only found knifes, forks and spoons.

"Stupid English Naru…" She muttered, picking up the weird instruments. How exactly was she meant to use these?

"Naru… Don't you have any chopsticks?" She called.

"No." Came the short reply as Naru came out of his room. Mai sighed and sat on the sofa, and Naru soon followed, sitting quite close to her. Mai blushed and looked down, handing him a spoon and a knife.

"Mai." Naru sighed, smiling, staring at the metal object in his hand, "you don't use a spoon to eat noodles.

"Oh…" Mai was embarrassed. Naru got up and went into the kitchen, retrieving two forks and also putting back the knife.

"And here I was thinking you had some common sense." Naru said in a mocking tone, shaking his head. Mai's face went red and she looked away, picking up her fork and examining it.

"So how do I?..."

"Here, look." Naru picked up his fork, and picked up some noodles with it. It seemed easy enough, but when Mai tried it, the noodles kept falling into her lap before they reached her mouth.

"Twist it." Naru said, demonstrating. "It helps keep the noodles on the fork. Mai tried again and succeeded a couple of times.

Pleased with herself, Mai realised that Naru had already eaten most of the ramen.

"Hey!" She cried, smacking Naru's arm playfully. "While I was busy struggling with my fork, you were eating our dinner!" She sat back and grabbed the rice bowl. This was a lot easier for her so she just ended up shovelling it in. Naru gave her a 'real nice Mai' look, and grabbed the bowl from her hands, eating some too.

"No fair!" Mai cried, attempting to grab the bowl back, but Naru just held it over her head. He half smiled as she tried to grab it, failing. By this point she practically in his lap, and that was when he realised what was happening. Naru threw the rce bowl onto the sofa, and stood up. The once laughing Mai stared at him.

"I'm sorry." Naru said through his teeth, walking quickly walking to his room, shutting the door.

…

He pretended not to hear Mai's ranting about him, and occupied himself with punching a pillow instead.

"How could I be so stupid? She'll hate me for this… It's so obvious that these feelings… Aah!" Naru had hit the wall, and his knuckles were bleeding. He cursed himself, and sucked the blood from his hand.

"Naru?" Came a small voice from the other side of the door. Naru gritted his teeth and scowled at the door. "Are you okay?" The voice persisted.

"I'm fine, Mai." He said, interrupted by a grunt of pain accidentally escaping from his mouth. He cursed himself silently. There was a pause from the other side of the door, and then he heard Mai walking away. He sighed in relief, only to hear her come back, knocking on the door and entering without his position.

Mai was carrying some bandages. She smiled apologetically, and gasped when she saw Naru's hand. Without warning, she reached out and held it, examining the damage.

"Really, Mai, I'm fine." Naru growled, trying to show her his best scowl. She didn't take the warning, and started wrapping some bandages around his knuckles. Eventually, Naru snapped. HE slapped her hand away.

"I'm fine." He growled. "Now, GET OUT." Mai stared at him for a second, tears pooling in her eyes. As the first escaped, she dropped the rest of the bandages and ran out the room. Naru sighed, and sat on his bed. He hadn't meant for her to cry…

**Tht's right, I'm leaving you on a cliff-hanger to make you review! Bwa ha ha ha :3**

**How will he make it up to her?... :D**

**Read and most definitely review please :)**


	7. Chapter 7 Cooking: Part 2

**Yayyyyyyy 22 reviews! Thanks guys :3**

**As promised, chapter seven. **

**Chapter 7: Cooking, Part 2**

Mai scowled at the wall. Why was Naru always like this? He always changed his mind about how he felt for her. It was infuriating and stressful to keep up with. And now, she had stupidly triggered it again. The mood swing.

If he really did dislike her, then maybe she should move out?...

Mai shook her head. This was all completely insane. It seemed that everyone at Shibuya Physic Research knew about her crush on Naru, apart from the man himself. Heck, Mai was pretty sure Lin even knew.

Maybe he was just ignorant?...

Mai stayed in her room for a while, thinking everything over. She couldn't really hear anything coming from Naru's room.

_He probably doesn't even care that I'm upset._

…

Naru groaned. Why had he snapped? It was always like this. I always changed my mind about how I should act around her. Mai. It was so infuriating and stressful, the things that she made me feel. And just seeing her smiling, happy face, that was what triggered it. His feelings towards her. But he always pushed her away, and that was because he thought that she didn't like him and a relationship between a boss and his his assistant would be completely inappropriate. It seemed that everyone at Shibuya Pysic Research thought that he had a crush on Mai, apart from the girl herself.

Heck, Naru was pretty sure even Lin knew.

Maybe she was just ignorant?...

Naru only stayed in his room for a few minutes, then decided he had to do something to say sorry.

_She probably doesn't even care about me. _

…

Naru cracked the eggs into the bowl already filled with butter and sugar and mixed quickly. He was running out of time, and wanted this to be a surprise. To show that he really did care about Mai…

…

Just as he had finished writing the letter and mixing the icing, he heard Mai stir in her room. Panicking, Naru quickly depositied his icing on his present for Mai and left the letter nextto it, then walked back to his room, trying not to be too noisy.

…

Mai stirred from her uncomfortable position. She must have fallen asleep leaning on her wall (she was already sitting down on her bed). A strange smell hit her. It smelled a bit like cake, but… odd.

She stood up, groaning as her stiff joints complained. When Mai opened the dor ,Naru was no where to be seen.

"Typical." She muttered under her breath.

When she reached the sitting room, she found a tin on the table. It was one that you would use to bake a cake in. The cake inside said tin was iced. It said 'sorry'. Mai smiled and blushed. Next to the cake was a letter.

_Dear Mai,_

_I believe that my actions towards you were uncalled for. I'm sorry but at this current time I can't say why I acted in this way. However, I do want you to know that I care about you, and I hope that you will forgive me. I am not sure how to act in a situation like this, as most girls think that I'm so handsome that they daren't say anything rude to me, thus causing an argument. _

_-Naru_

Mai wasn't sure if she should be angry or happy. But then she decided it was probably the best apology she would get from Naru anyway. He just had his own particular way of doing it, in his narcissistic way.

She picked up a knife that had been left next to the cake tin (why was it still in the cake tin?) and attempted to cut it. However, her knife went straight through the icing and into a runny cake mixture. Mai stared at the cake for a second, then smiled. It seemed Naru had a weakness after all.

…

Mai knocked on Naru's door softly.

"Naru?" The door opened quickly. Naru stared at her for a second, analyzing her expression.

"I liked the cake, Naru… It's just I think it's a bit undercooked… And you forgot a few ingredients…" Mai smiled hesitantly. Naru glared back. "D-did I do something wrong?"

"No, Mai." Naru sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I just…" He looked away in embarrassment.

"Go on, tell me." Mai said pleadingly, staring up him with her big brown eyes.

"I… I can't stand it when I'm wrong." Naru turned his face away, hoping that Mai wouldn't see the blush. He didn't usually admit that kind of thing, even to Gene, when even when it was usually written all over his face.

Mai laughed a little. Naru turned back, surprised.

"That's so cute." She said smiling.

_Cute? What the actual?..._ Naru thought.

"C'mon, I'll help you make another one." Mai said, taking his hand.

"But it's already ten o'clock…" Naru muttered, only out of habit. The truth was, his heart had leapt when Mai had suggested that.

"Come on, lighten up." Mai said, dragging Naru to the kitchen.

Mai gasped when she went into the room. Cooking instruments were left everywhere, and some form of cake goo had got everywhere.

"We need to clean this up first." Mai sighed, letting go of Naru's hand. Naru sighed, but not because of the fact that they had to clean.

…

When they were finished, Mai began laying out the ingredients.

"Eggs, butter, flour, sugar…" She muttered under her breath. Then she instructed Naru to measure the right amounts. He obeyed, but soon enough couldn't stand being given orders and made Mai make him some tea.

As she poured the hot water into the cups, he leaned against the counter, mixing the ingredients in a bowl.

"I… I liked your letter." Mai said, blushing slightly.

"Thank you. It was a bit childish and stupid, not saying it to your face, but…" Naru stared at the ceiling, willing the words to form in his mouth.

"…I do care about you. I don't want to see you hurt." He said.

"Oh. So is that why you stayed with me in the hospital?" Mai asked, not looking at Naru.

"Yes."

An awkward silence followed.

…

The cake smelled delicious as it cooked in the oven. While it was cooking, Mai made some butter cream icing. Naru watched her intently.

"How do you know so much about cooking?" He asked, glaring at her bowl of perfect icing.

Mai laughed a little in response. "It's quite simple stuff, cake. I honestly can't believe you don't know how to make it." Naru exhaled sharply at these words, but didn't comment.

"I'm surprised you haven't poisoned yourself yet." Mai continued, not noticing the narcissist's glare becoming more and more intense.

"Mai." He growled. "I… I don't enjoy you insulting my cooking skills." Mai looked up, and her smile disappeared when she saw how angry he looked.

But then, she burst out laughing. Naru's angry glare quickly left his face, only to be replaced with shock. The look on his face only made Mai laugh harder.

"You really… Can't stand being bad at something, can you?" She gasped, clutching her sides.

Naru grabbed her arms, and held her still.

"That is true. I didn't think it was that easy to figure it out…" He murmured.

"Hey!" Mai protested, squirming in his arms. "Are you calling me stupid? That's so like you! Just when I'm-" Naru cut her off by pulling her into a tight hug. Mai was surprised, but eventually recovered and put her arms round his back. Naru smiled. This moment was perfect. He leant down and put his face in her hair, daring to take a small whiff of it.

Strawberries. It smelled so sweet and was so soft that-

The timer went off.

"Buggar." Naru muttered as Mai pushed him away. She threw him a quick smile and then pulled the cake out of the oven and set it on a heat proof mat.

…

"So what do you want to write on it this time?" Mai asked. The cake had now cooled down.

"Shibuya Physic Research?" Naru suggested. Mai turned around and smiled.

"Good joke, but seriously. I have no ideas."

"It wasn't a joke…"

"Oh. Erm. Awkward turtle much?" Mai laughed, and Naru glared at her.

_What the hell are awkward turtles? _**I've got to get Mai to teach Naru awkward turtle sometime XD**

"Actually, that's not such a bad idea." Mai said, tapping her chin with her finger. "We could bring it to work tomorrow and share it with everyone." Naru nodded in agreement but mentally kicked himself. This was their cake, he didn't want to share it.

**Aaaaaawwww! Naru doesn't want to share their love cake :3 **

**I'm not really sure what was going through my head when I wrote this… Oh well, at least it's long!**

**Read and review :)**


	8. Case 2: The Lost Child, Part 1

**Whoa guys ten reviews in less than 24 hours! Yayyyyy! **

***ahem***

**I believe it's time for yet another case. And I might just slip in awkward tutle :DDDDDD**

**Thank you. Yes, I know you love me.**

…**I sound like Naru O_o**

**Chapter 8: Case 2: The Lost Child **

Mai set the box down on the table.

"Hey guys, look what Naru and I made!" She cried cheerfully. Everyone gasped as she opened the box.

"Thanks, Mai." Monk said, ruffling Mai's hair. Ayako went to fetch a knife as Mai smoothed her hair back into place.

"It does look good." She said, cutting through the sponge and icing. The others nodded in agreement. Everyone had a slice, even Lin and Naru.

About an hour later, someone came to see them.

…

"Hi. My name is Emiko Hokkaido. I believe I have a spirit in my house…" She said. The woman had long, black hair and brown eyes. She looked down, seeming like she was scared to speak.

"Why do you believe this?" Naru asked.

"Here, sit down." Mai said.

"Well… I hear the sound of a child at night. It's a boy, but I can't tell what he's saying. And sometimes I hear knocking sounds. For some reason the spirit seems to follow me a lot." Emiko said slowly, thinking it over. "That's about all I can remember."

Finally, she looked up. Mai was surprised. She hadn't really seen the woman's face properly, but now she could see that she was very pretty.

"We'll take the case."

…

"Wow." Monk exclaimed as he stretched. It had been a long car ride, about two hours, so everyone was there, even Masako.

"it's certainly an impressive house." Ayako agreed, climbing out of the car. It had three floors, and covered a large area. There were a few extensions built into either side as well.

"It's so big, I'll probably get lost…" Mai muttered.

A woman came out of the house. It was Emiko. She was closely followed by two children, one a girl, one a boy.

"Hello. Thank you for coming." Emiko said. "I'd like to introduce you to my family. My husband is away on a business trip, and won't be back for a while, so I doubt you'll see him."

First, the boy stepped forward. He had short black hair, and blue eyes. He seemed annoyed at something.

"This is Takeshi. He's been in a bit of a bad mood for the past few days, but I'm sure he'll cheer up soon." Emiko reached forward to pat the boy's head, but Takeshi slapped her hands away. He glared at the team and walked away. Emiko sighed, and carried on.

"And this is my daughter, Misayo." When the girl stepped forward, Mai gasped. Misayo was breath taking, a mirror image of her mother. She had pale, creamy skin, long, black hair, big brown eyes, and perfectly shaped lips.

"Hello." Even her voice was pretty. "It's nice to meet you all." She bowed to them. Then she spotted Naru.

"Ooh, are you the assistant?" She said, losing the polite, shy masquerade.

"No. I am the head of Shibuya Physic research." Naru replied, not seeming surprised. "This is my assistant, Mai Taniyama." Naru indicated towards Mai, making her blush. She was just about to say hello to Misayo when she was stopped by the look on Misayo's face.

She looked absolutely love-struck, gazing at Naru.

Monk saw all of this, and was just in time from stopping Mai from going at Misayo.

"She's not worth it." He muttered in her ear.

…

"And yes, the priest and the median will be sharing a room here…" Emiko said, smiling. John and Masako entered the room, and then turned around.

"See you guys in the base around five, yeah?" John said. He looked quite happy with the room arrangements.

_What's with him? _Mai thought, staring at the overly happy priest.

They carried on walking down the hallway.

"Here's your room. I hope you don't mind sharing." Emiko said. "I'm sorry but it was because you came on such short notice, we didn't know how many rooms to prepare…"

Mai blushed. Sharing a room with Naru?

Emiko opened the door.

"WAAAHHH? There's only one bed!" Mai said, staring into the room. It was a king-size bed, but still, there was only one.

"Oh, I thought you two were…" Emiko looked at them both quickly, embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Thank you for providing such a lovely room." Naru replied, not looking at Mai.

…

"So…" Mai said slowly. They were both sitting on the bed, facing away from each other.

"…"

Mai sighed, and put her hands together, thumbs sticking outwards.

"Awkward turtle." She muttered. In a second, Naru was sitting next to her, holding her hand in his.

"What is it… That you're doing?" He asked, staring at her hands. "You were doing it in the apartment…" Mai blushed.

"This?" She lifted her hands slightly. "It's called awkward turtle."

"…Why?"

"Well, because it looks like a turtle. You move your thumbs like this-" She demonstrated. "-and you use it in awkward situations." Naru stared at his assistant, for a while, not saying anything.

"Look. You put one hand on top of the other…" Mai held one of Naru's hands on top of the other, and told him to lock his fingers together.

"There." She said, smiling, impressed with herself. There were a few seconds of silence.

"…But why? What's the point?"

"Agh! It's like explaining to a two year old." Mai sighed, getting up. "I need a drink of water." She started walking to the door.

"Awkward turtle babies much." She muttered under her breath.

"Mai, what-"

"No!" She yelled, running out the door. "You're too stupid!" She couldn't stop a laugh escaping her lips as she said that.

Naru didn't bother following her.

…

Mai stopped outside the kitchen door. She could hear some people talking inside. It was Emiko and Misayo.

"But mother, why them? I don't want them to sleep in the same room." Misayo whined.

"Because of the short notice. Honestly, I don't know why you're so upset about this.

"Can't you move them?"

"No, Misayo, I can't."

"But mother! He could always stay in my room."

Mai was shocked. Who were they talking about?

"No. Naru is our guest, and-" Mai covered her hand with her mouth. They were talking about her and Naru? What was Misayo's problem? She couldn't dislike Mai that much, she only met her today…

Mai turned around and walked down the hall way, out into the big garden. She sighed, heading for the trees.

Her footsteps almost made no noise. Occasionally, a branch would snap. The birds called to each other, creating a song only for Mai's ears.

Eventually, when she decided she had gone far enough, she decided to rest against what looked like a sheet of rock.

Suddenly, Mai felt something cold on her thigh. When she looked down, a hand was holding her leg.

"No…" She whispered. The hand gave a slight tug. Mai was petrified with fear, she felt like she couldn't move. The hand tugged again, stronger this time. Finally, it tugged once more, making Mai lose her balance. She fell, and a sharp pain hit her forehead.

Then she blacked out.

**Bwa ha ha ha ha! Cliffhanger time! **

**I know, I'm a bad person. At least it's a long chapter. Besides, I'm on my easter holidays now, so expect constant updates! ^.^**

**Read and Review :)**


	9. Case 2: The Lost Child, Part 2

**Yeah! This fanfic is getting really popular! Thanks guys :3 *fistbumps all of you***

**Anyway, I thought I'd do something different for a change. **

**Chapter 9: The Lost Child, Part 2**

'_Ah, crap,' Mai thought as she sat up. She was having another dream._

"_What… I don't remember falling asleep…" She muttered, turning her head from left to right. It was the standard setting: Darkness all around her. She was alone._

"_Miss?" Mai sat up straight. A boy had appeared in front of her. _

"_Um… Yeah?" Mai stuttered. Who was this boy?_

"_Are you my mother?" The boy asked, tears pooling in his eyes. _

"_I'm sorry, no. My name is Mai, I could help you-"_

"_I'll find her!" The boy shouted. "I'll find her, she wouldn't leave me, never, never!" He started to shake his head violently, fists clenched at his sides. _

"_She would wait! She would! I know she loved me…" The boy looked up, staring at Mai. "I'll do it myself. You watch, I can do it. She's my mother, and we love each other. I… Can do this." _

…

Mai woke with a gasp. She was still in the forest. It all came back to her quickly. The hand, blacking out-

Mai looked around quickly. The ghost wasn't still here, was it? It didn't seem so. All the same, Mai knew that it would probably be a good idea to get out of here, fast.

Dizzyness hit her hard as she stood up. A pain shot through the back of her head, and she lifted a hand to it. When it came away, it was stained with red.

_Breathe in, breathe out, Mai. _She thought, wiping the blood off on her trousers. It was then that she realised that she was alone. So no one had noticed she was missing yet.

"Ha!" She cried happily. Then she paused a second, wondering if the hit to her head had mad her gone mad. But then it really hit her.

I'm not being saved by someone else – I can do this on my own! Mai took a step forward, and felt nauseas. But she kept going, knowing that this was her chance. To prove to everyone tat she didn't always have to rely on someone else.

…

Finally, after what seemed like days, Mai made it out of the forest. She didn't want to admit to herself that she had got lost several times.

When Mai made it to the house, she leaned against the wall facing the forest, sighing heavily. Then she saw that she was not alone.

Takeshi was standing just a few feet away from her. He looked like he was in a pretty bad mood.

"You… You're the one. The one who… Wasn't her." He muttered, not blinking as he stared intently at her. Mai shivered. His gaze wasn't friendly.

"I'm sorry, Takeshi, but I don't understand. Who is 'her'?" Mai replied, trying desperately to sound cheery.

"I was going to ask for your help, but now… I'm going to do it on my own. With the help of… This boy."

Mai gasped. That really didn't sound like Takeshi. Could he be… Possessed?

"Please, just let me help you. You don't have to do this on your own." She said, trying to play along. Maybe she could get some answers from this boy.

"No." The boy muttered. "No one would help. They just ran away from me. The children wouldn't play with me or anything. They said I was weird…." And with that Takeshi, (or whoever it was in there) turned and walked into the house.

…

Mai figured that the best place to go would be her room, and rest up a bit. She didn't want to tell anyone about what had happened. They'd just get worried, and she hated that.

But then, she found that her room was occupied, and by a certain narcissist.

"Mai, where have you been?" Naru demanded, standing up. "A glass of water does not take that long."

"I… I went out. To the forest. And then…" Pain hit Mai hard, and she tenderly touched her head.

"What happened?" Naru growled. He walked over, and pushed Mai so that she was sitting down on the bed.

"I fell, and passed out. But it's no big thing, I woke up and got back here fine." Mai said.

"Goddamit, Mai!" Naru yelled, running his fingers through his unusually tousled hair.

Why can't you learn to not be so reckless! Anything could have happened to you there!" He turned away from her. "Why do you always have to get hurt? It's a lot of stress for us all, knowing that this kind of thing happens to you all the time!"

Tears filled Mai's eyes.

"Is that what you think of me? I'm an inconvenience?" She yelled. The tears began to spill. "Well I'm sorry that ghosts and spirits target me! And I'm sorry that a certain someone was bitching about me behind my back, so I'm sorry that I had to get some air because generally, people don't like it when that happens!" Mai stood up, but then had to sit down again, because of her head. "You should learn about situations before you tell me off for them!"

Mai turned around and laid on the bed, not trying to hide her sobs. There was silence for a while, and then Naru laid down next to her.

"What did the ghost do?" He asked, trying to sound gentle.

"You're all work, aren't you?" Mai muttered, but the sting was gone from her words. Now she just felt tired. When she received no reply, she sighed and began to explain what happened. Naru didn't speak once.

…

After Mai explained everything, Naru bandaged her head with a small first aid kit that he had. They were both lying on the bed.

"I have to go soon, but you should rest here." He said.

"No. I have to help you-"

"Just be glad I haven't taken you off the case." Naru interrupted her.

"Fine." Mai growled. "But stay for a bit, please." Naru sighed, but to Mai's surprise, put his arm round her waist, and linked his fingers with hers. Mai blushed heavily.

They lay there for a while.

…

"Lin, I need you to look into the past history of the house. Look particularly for suicides." Naru said, moving to his laptop.

"Suicides?" Mai muttered. After about an hour of trying to get to sleep, she had gone to the base and managed to persuade Naru to let her stay there, just as long as she stayed on the sofa and slept occasionally.

"I think your dream has helped us a lot." He replied, his eyes not moving from the screen. Mai sighed, and reached for her school bag. She had a lot of work to catch up on, due to cake baking.

…

"Naru. I've found something." Lin said quickly, staring at his laptop screen. Most of the team stood up and crowded around him, apart from Mai, after being sent a dangerous glare by Naru.

"This house is old. Much older than we thought. Around seventy years ago, a woman committed suicide…. The reason is unclear. But a boy also died… I bet that's her son." Lin said, scrolling down the page.

"And it was only six months ago that the family moved here…" John said, staring at the screen with wide eyes.

"I think I know what's happening." Mai said. Everyone turned around and stared at her. "The boy must have died somehow. And so… The mother committed suicide. But her spirit probably isn't here, right Masako?"

The median shook her head. "I only feel one presence… It is strong, though."

"Right. So that means that the mother isn't here but the boy is. Seeing as she died after him, he probably doesn't know she's dead…" Mai said, tapping her chin, thinking as she spoke.

"I get it!" She yelled, making everyone jump. "That boy, Takeshi, he said… I'm going to do it on my own. I think he meant finding his mother. But wait… That means that Takeshi's possessed!" She gasped. Everyone looked surprised and worried.

"Well done, Mai. You might actually have learned something." Naru said. Mai blushed, but let the comment go past her.

"Everyone!" Emiko burst into the room, alongside Misayo. "Takeshi's missing."

**Bwa ha ha! Yet another cliffhanger!**

**Anyway, read and review! Oh, and next chapter, something going to happen with Misayo and Naru…. :D**

**Read and Review!**


	10. Case 2: The Lost Child, Part 3

**I'm bored, so I'm writing again. Be happy ^.^**

**Anyway, prepare for something really sweet! Kawaii!**

**Chapter 10: Case 2: The Lost Child, Part 3**

They had been searching for a while. Mai had been left alone in the house, due to her head injury, despite her protests. The whole family was outside, as was the team. They had already searched the house, but had found nothing.

All Mai had been given was a frickin' walkie-talkie. And no-one had bothered to speak to her, not even an update.

Eventually, she went to sleep.

…

"_Mother? Mother!" The boy cried, running to the other side of the shrine. Not finding her, he sank to his knees. _

"_Why didn't you wait? Have you moved house? So where do we live? Why won't you tell me!" He yelled. Tears streamed down his face. Mai moved silently towards him. The boy was sobbing._

"_Why won't someone help me? I can hear them looking for Takeshi, but no one, no one will look for me, or my mother. Why do they hate us so much, mother? Why?" _

…

Mai woke suddenly, covered in sweat. She wiped her face off on the blanket and sat up.

"I know where he is… But I don't." She whispered. All she knew was that the boy was at a shrine, but she didn't know where the shrine was.

Mai stood up, the blanket falling to the floor.

"I have to find him." She muttered.

…

"Oh. Emiko?" Mai had spotted someone in the kitchen. The figure turned round.

"No. Misayo." Misayo had been crying, Mai could tell. She was still breath taking, though.

"What do you want?" The girl shot at Mai. There was no sympathy in her voice.

"Is… Is there a shrine near here?" Mai asked, trying to pretend that she didn't suspect that Misayo hated her.

"Yeah. It's north of the house, just about a minutes walk from the forest opposite the back wall." Misayo growled, turning away. "Why?"

"No reason!" Mai replied hastily. "See you later!" She turned and ran out of the building.

…

It was already night. Soon enough, icy rain began to fall. Mai mentally kicked herself for not bringing a coat or something warm.

She found the shrine. It was old, and worn down. The paint was cracked, the stones weather-beaten.

Takeshi was there.

"Hey, Takeshi." Mai said, stopping before she got too close to the boy.

"I'm not Takeshi." The boy muttered. He stood up, and turned around. "Oh. You're the girl who I spoke to before. How did you find me?"

"It's… Complicated."

"Hm. Well, I might as well ask you. Have you… Seen my mother?"

"I'm sorry, no. But I have to tell you, your mother… She's passed away." Mai said softly, not sure of the boys reaction.

"…What?" The boy took a step forward, but his legs were shaking. Mai only just caught him as he fell.

He sobbed into Mai's shoulder as she wrapped her arms round him.

"What's your name?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Kenji."

"Kenji, how long have you been searching for your mother?"

"A month, maybe? I just woke up in the house one morning, like any other. But there was a new family there. I searched and searched for my mother but-" He started crying again. Mai took a moment to process this information, and then decided what to do.

"Kenji. I can take you to your mother." She whispered in his ear. Kenji stopped crying instantly.

…

"It's okay, I have him." Mai called as she walked towards the team. They all gasped and ran to her side.

"Stay back!" She called. They obeyed. "He's possessed." She explained. "His name is Kenji, and his spirit only woke five months after the family moved in. I'm guessing that they're the first family in a while to own this house who have a boy the same age as Kenji." The others nodded in understanding.

"I promised – I promised I'd take him to his mother." Mai said, her arms growing tired. She leant on one leg. Kenji was asleep in her arms.

…

"Lin, we need details on Kenji's mother." Naru commanded. Kenji was in Takeshi's room, being watched over by Ayako. He had put up a fight when he realised that Mai would be leaving him, but they eventually got him to settle down.

"Mai." Naru turned round, glaring at his assistant.

"I do not believe I have had a chance to talk to you about this yet."

"Oh, give it up, Naru!" Mai yelled. "I'm never going to change! I'm just a stupid, reckless person who always gets hurt and has to have someone come rescue her. I get it. So I don't need you to tell me that again." And with that, she turned and walked out of the room. Monk started to applaud her, but John stopped him in time before Naru noticed.

…

Naru climbed into the bed next to Mai. He knew that she was pretending to be asleep.

"Mai… I'm sorry for getting mad. But we both know that it's for good reason. I almost have the guarantee that when you go off on your own then you will get hurt." Naru explained, staring at the back of her head.

"And… I hate seeing you in pain. But what's worse is I know that I cause some of it. I've just always been like that, Mai. Saying what I think. You're the first person who's made me realise that." When Naru had finished, Mai stayed silent. He wondered if she was actually asleep, but then,

"Thankyou."

…

Naru couldn't sleep. And the worst thing was, there wasn't anything keeping him up. He just couldn't go to sleep, no matter how tight his eyes were shut.

"Naru…" Mai muttered in her sleep. Naru's eyes opened quickly, staring at the small girl next to him. She muttered his name again, and rolled over, so she was pressed against him.

A slight blush rose on Naru's face, a rare sight. He didn't know what to do. She clearly wasn't going to move for a while, so he mnight as well enjoy it while it lasted.

Slowly, Naru put his arms round her small, sleeping figure and rested his chin on top of her head.

And finally, Naru was able to get to sleep.

…

Mai woke alone. This instantly worried her. It was past morning, she reckoned, staring out the window. The sun was quite high in the sky. She had no recollection of the night before… Just that Naru had apologised, and then they had both fallen asleep.

But still… She had had a very weird dream last night. Someone was holding her…

Mai shook her head.

_Get real. It was just a stupid dream._

She got up, and walked to the kitchen, thinking that Naru might be there, having some late breakfast. Once again, she was stopped just outside of the kitchen right before she entered.

"Come on. I know you feel it too." It was Misayo. Whoever she was with was staying silent.

"Forget everything about that stupid girl… I know you really love me." Misayo was trying her best to sound seductive, but it wasn't working. Mai felt a little sorry for whoever she was trying to seduce. She couldn't resist peeking round the corner.

It was Naru and Misayo. Naru was sitting at the table, Misayo was trying to climb onto his lap. Naru crossed his legs and turned away.

"I'm sorry, but I must decline your offer… No matter how annoying it is…" He said slowly, staring at her.

"But why?" Misayo sat down on the table heavily, sighing in anger and frustration. "Why don't you like me? All the men do. They all say I'm so beautiful…" She reached out a hand to touch Naru's face, but he turned away.

"Because… I already have feelings for someone else." Naru said. Mai's heart leapt into her throat. There was someone else?

"And who is it? I'll squash them like a bug!" Misayo demanded.

"I'm afraid… Although she does tend to injure quite easily, she is quite strong willed… And would not back down, believe me." A smile tugged at Naru's lips as he said this. Misayo pouted.

Mai covered her hand with her mouth, stifling a gasp. Who was Naru talking about? Could it be… Her?

Mai shook her head. Nah, that's impossible. It must be someone back in England. She turned around and ran down the hallway.

"Who's there?" Misayo shouted, standing up. Mai ran faster.

"Come out, you little screw ball!" Misayo began to chase her, following the sound of Mai's footsteps.

What could Mai do?

**Sooooo! What do you think? I told you it would be cute! And this was originally only going to have three parts but I changed my mind…**

**Read and Review!**


	11. Case 2: The Lost Child, Part 4

**It's the end of the case :( And I'm going to do a few new Mai x Naru scenes in their apartment. But I have no ideas, so if (when? :D) you review, can you give me a suggestion for something? Ty :)**

**Chapter 11: Case 2: The Lost Child, Part 4**

Mai ducked into a room, shutting the door behind her as quietly as she could. It was a library, with bookcases that touched the ceiling. Mai looked around quickly – there wasn't much to hide in, around or under. However, there was a desk, so she hid under that. A few seconds later, Misayo burst into the room.

"Where are you? I know you're here…" She said menacingly, locking the door behind her. "Come out, you coward! Only idiots hide!" Mai took this in for a second, her anger bubbling. This girl had just insulted her, told Naru he would never love her, and now was calling her an idiot and a coward? Mai had had enough.

She stepped out from under the desk and rose slowly. When she turned around, Misayo was looking surprised, but she quickly hid it.

"Oh. It's you." Misayo spat.

"Yeah. It is me. It doesn't really do good things for a person when they're insulted and chased through a house." Mai returned, her voice equally filled with venom. The girls both paused for a second, breathing heavily.

"You know, what I said was true. He really doesn't love you." Misayo sneered.

"Well, I don't really believe you. I would never consider your opinion, never. To be honest, I think you're just a spoilt brat who is upset that she hasn't got what she wanted." Mai's voice rose, getting louder and louder. "Naru would never love you. You're just a stupid little-"

_Slap._

They both stood there for a second, stunned. Mai hput her palm to her cheek, wincing at the pain. The door burst open, and Naru and Monk were there, staring out the two. Misayo barely acknowledged them, and pounced on Mai. Although Misayo was pretty, she was weak, and had no experience in close hand combat. Mai had floored her in a few seconds, but then the two men pulled them apart.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Monk yelled. Naru said nothing, not even trying to contain Mai. She had gone limp in his arms, sighing in defeat. Misayo, however, was thrashing in monks arms.

"I'm sorry, Monk, Naru. She just went for me. I overheard her and NAru in the kitchen-"

"Lies!" Misayo cried. "I was in here, reading a book, when Mai came out from under the desk, and attacked me. It's so good that you're here, she might of-"

"The only part of that that's true is that I was under the desk, because you were chasing after me, because I overheard you and Naru! It's a stupid lie." Mai spat. "Because Naru was there, and knew that you weren't in the library!"

"Shut up!" Monk yelled. "I don't care what happened, but – Mai?" Mai had her face in her hands, and Naru was trying to pull them apart.

"Look, I'll take Misayo to her room, Naru. You deal with Mai." Monk said, hurring out of the room with a screaming Misayo.

Naru went down onto his knees, pulling Mai with him so that she sat down. He gently prised her hands apart, but she looked away.

"Mai." He whispered. "What happened?" Mai turned to him slowly, earning a grimace from them both.

Mai had a black eye, and a split lip. Her hair was a mess, and there were bruises forming on her neck. It almost looked like Misayo had tried to strangle her.

"Maybe… Maybe Misayo's possessed?" Mai said slowly, trying to form a smile.

"I thought that might be true." Naru sighed, running a hand through his hair. He had been doing that a lot recently, Mai noticed. "But… I don't think so anymore. I just think she's a bad apple." Mai nodded, and winced when Naru touched her arm.

Naru sighed, and gently pulled up the sleeves of her hoodie, revealing more bruises.

"How's your head?" He asked, touching her sore spot lightly. Mai winced again.

"I must have hit it again when we went down." She muttered. Naru looked away and sighed.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Mai said slowly. "It was really self defence. She slapped me, and then it just…" Then it was Mai's turn to look away and sigh. Naru turned back.

"She slapped you?" He asked, touching her face tenderly.

"Yeah. Cause I told her she was a spoilt brat." Mai replied, blushing, realising how close their bodies were. To her surprise, Naru chuckled slightly.

"Good one."

…

"Lin, we need Kenji's mother's full name, birth and death dates." Naru said, scanning the monitors quickly with his experienced eyes. "And Mai, bring us all some tea. I don't think I've asked you about that before on this case. Expect hard work."

Mai sighed, and walked away. It took more than a cat fight to stop him from asking her for tea.

The others had reacted a bit differently from how Naru had to Mai's injuries. She could even remember Ayako saying 'that bitch!' as she re-told the story, leaving out some parts, such as how Naru had proclaimed his love for someone else. She didn't like to think about that. Naru had had to remind everyone that Misayo was still a client, however bitchy she was.

…

"Naru, her name is Hitomi (**I always wanted to use that! Any of you seen the movie appleseed?) **Iwate. And these are her birth and death dates." Lin handed Naru a piece of paper.

"Everyone. Tonight we are going to summon Kenji's mother."

…

"It's alright, Kenji." Mai said, reaching for the boys hand. He whimpered.

"What if she doesn't want to see me? What if she really did leave me?" He whispered.

"I promise you, your mother still cares about you." Mai replies, trying to sound cheery. She was scared, though. What if the spirit was violent?

Lin chanted his prayer (or whatever it was) and slowly, the room became colder. A small light appeared in front of Lin, illuminating his face and the room. It slowly grew, until it was the shape of a woman. When she opened her eyes, they were white. Mai couldn't decide if it was pretty or creepy.

"Hitomi Iwate? I have someone to see you." Mai said, stepping forward. The other members of the team looked surprised, but Naru had planned this. If any other team member had tried to do this with Kenji he would have got upset.

Hitomi turned to Mai, who shivered under the white gaze.

"This is your son, Kenji." Mai pushed him forwards.

"…Kenji?"

"…Mother?" Kenji took a step forwards. "Do you want to see me still?"

"Of course!" Hitomi cried. Kenji smiled, and laughed. He turned to Mai, Takeshi's body glowing.

"Thank you, miss, for everything. Thank you so much." Kenji then lifted his spirit out of Takeshi's body, who lay on the floor, unconscious.

The mother and child embraced. The glowed brightly, and then faded away.

…

Mai pushed the last monitor into the van with a grunt. When she turned around, Naru was in front of her, and he was very close.

"You shouldn't be doing that." He said, looking at her arms. Hetouched one of he bruises gently. Mai smiled a little.

"It's my job." Their eyes met. They didn't speak, only watched each other.

…

Misayo was grounded and severely punished for her actions. Emiko apologised on her behalf, wished them a safe journey back. Takeshi had no idea what had happened. He had been possessed for the entire case.

**I know, crappy ending, but minecraft is beckoning :P **

**Read and Review, and remember, suggest ideas for the next chapter! :)**


	12. Chapter 12 Orange Juice

**Sorry I haven't written in a while, I've been busy with stuff -.- Like dying my hair red and cutting it short ^.^**

**Anyway here's something not well thought out. Lulz. And there will be no more cakes :'( that is, that Naru and Mai will make :D**

**Chapter 12:**

Mai yawned, raising one arm above her head, stretching, as she did so. Her footsteps were silent. It was night, and everything was silent. As Mai walked into the living room, she noticed the gold light seeping out room under Naru's door. She shook her head and smiled.

_He should really get some more sleep._

Mai poured herself a glass of orange juice, and knocked on his door. Silence followed, so she just went in.

"Naru?" The Narcissist looked up from his book. "Why are you still up?" Mai asked, shutting the door behind her.

"I could ask you the same thing." Naru's eyes returned to his book. He attempted to scan a few more lines, but then sighed and put it to the side, giving up. Mai sat on the end of his bed, and set her orange juice on the floor next to her feet.

"Well… To be honest, I just finished my homework." Mai threw her boss a nervous smile. He bristled at her words.

"It's not good to do that, Mai. It will exhaust your brain, and you won't to be able to work – at school and on cases." He said, glaring at her. Mai put her hands up in mock surrender.

"Okay, mum." She said, smiling a little. "But seriously Naru, I'd swear that you're borderline insomniac." Mai looked at her hands.

"I have things on my mind. Cases, mainly. But there is the occasional other thought…" Naru seemed to have drifted off, and was more speaking to himself than Mai. He didn't want to admit that those other thoughts were for Mai, and they weren't just occasional.

An awkward silence followed. Mai picked up her orange juice and sipped it.

"Didn't your mother tell you it's bad to drink orange juice after-" Naru stopped himself. "Oh. I didn't mean-"

"It's fine." Mai dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand. "It's been a long time. I just try to not think about them." She looked at the orange liquid.

"I do miss them. I really do. I wish I knew what it felt like, a warm embrace from someone as close to you as your mother – but I guess that's never going to happen, right?" Mai confessed. Naru stared at her for a few moments. He reached out and took the glass, and put it to the side. Mai looked up at him, a questioning look on her face.

Naru sat up, and pulled Mai into a tight embrace. She was surprised at first, but then put her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. He smiled a little at her reaction.

...

When Naru woke, he thought of the night before. Their embrace. The talk they had – it was all so-

_Don't say it. Inappropriate – don't say it. No. Don't let that ruin what you have here._

He shook his head. This was mad, all of it – if only he understood the feelings inside them, and could explain himself to Mai.

He sighed. What Naru needed was a case – something to take his mind off things.

Little did he know, the case he took made him do anything but stop thinking of Mai.

**I know. I know it's suckish. I know it's short. Don't bully me . I'm going to Madrid on Tuesday for a week… I'll try to write while I'm there, but I won't have internet access. So I'm writing tomorrow, a big chapter. **

**Sorry :(**


	13. Case 3: The Man in the Walls, Part 1

**This is the last case :( I'm sorry *hides while you throw rocks at me* **

**I want to make this one really good. Don't worry, you've got a good five chapters to go ^.^**

**Anyway, here goes. This chapter is for Universe Shadow, who gave me the idea.**

**Chapter 13: Case 3: The Man in the Walls**

"It's a simple exorcism, I believe." Naru said, shutting the file in his hands, absentmindedly staring off into the distance. "I shall only need a certain number of people on the team. Lin. You know what to do."

Lin picked up the phone and dialled a number. Mai recognised John's voice at the end of the line.

"Mai, tea." Naru commanded, without even looking at her.

"Jeez, for once you could say please you know…" Mai grumbled as she stormed off.

She made a cup of tea for everyone, knowing they would be here soon. When she carried the tray back into the main room, John and Ayako were already there.

They were arguing about something – Mai didn't really care enough to listen to what they were disagreeing on. Anyway, they stopped when she approached the table.

"Good to see you, Mai." John smiled at her warmly, taking his tea.

"Yes, hello Mai. Thanks." Ayako said, accepting a cup.

"Hey guys." Mai replied quickly, setting the tea tray down on the table. She picked up two cups and placed them on Lin and Naru's desk.

"A thank you wouldn't hurt, either." She muttered, walking away. Naru let a smile cross his lips quickly.

…

Once everyone was at the office, Naru explained their case.

"This is a very small case. It is in a house – the man who came to see me explained his family had been experiencing furniture moving by itself, objects occasionally thrown about. Nothing too serious, but…" Naru didn't want to explain why he took the case. To keep his mind off certain things – such as his assistant.

…

"Good day. My name is Keiko. This is my son, Takara, and my husband, Kentaro." The woman who spoke to them was around 40-something years old. She had brown hair with a few greys in it. Her husband already had a receding hairline. But what Mai noticed the most, was how attractive Takara was. He smiled at her cockily, and instead of shaking her hand, like his parents did, he put two fingers together and gave her a mock salute. She smiled back.

Naru watched this carefully. He didn't like Takara one bit.

"My name is Kazuya Shibuya. I am the head of Shibuya Physic Research." Naru said. He pointed to each member of the team in turn.

"This is Ayako, Monk, John, Lin and Mai." His eyes stayed on Mai for a little longer than the others. She didn't look at him once. She had Takara were busy smiling at each other.

…

"This is the room that is mainly affected… Here, things are thrown and such." Keiko explained, gesturing for them to go in. It seemed like a simple enough room – two sofas, a TV and a window looking out into the garden.

"I see. Have there ever been any other occurrences?" Naru asked, examining the room with his eyes.

"Yes. Occasionally I can hear someone muttering. I don't know what they're saying, but Takara and Kentaro can't hear it. It's odd… But I do know that it's a man muttering." Keiko said slowly, her eyes glazing over. "It scares me sometimes at night. It seems like he's inside the walls, almost." She laughed and shook her head.

…

Mai poured the hot water into the teacups. By now, the base had been set up, and Naru had sent people around the house to see if they could find anything odd.

Suddenly, Takara walked into the kitchen, doing his mock salute thing again. He startled Mai, making her spill some of the hot water.

"Hey!" She cried, annoyed. "I could've been burned!" She picked up a cloth. Takara laughed and took the cloth from her hands.

"It's fine. I'll do it." He said, smiling at her.

"Thanks."

They stayed in silence for a while. Mai added the correct ingredients to certain cups of tea.

_Sugar for Ayako, milk for John…_

Suddenly, a voice flitted through her head. It was faint, but Mai could make out a few of the words.

"…_.the….who…..yes…Taniyama." _Mai's last name was stronger than the other words. She froze, terrified. Who was this man speaking to her?

"_Yes….. I shall…..rip….tear…..knife of… and then…." _The man laughed. Mai covered her ears.

"No!" She cried. "Don't! Stop!" Takara turned to her, looking surprised.

"Mai, what-"

"NO!" Mai screamed. "Stop! Stop hurting me! NO!" She fell to her knees, shaking her head back and forth. Takara grabbed her shoulders.

"Mai, look at me. Look at me! It's not real!" he yelled desperately, shaking her. The voice became louder and clearer in Mai's mind.

"_I'll cut you. I'll tear you apart. I'll take my knife and stab you one hundred times, I'll spill your blood everywhere…." _

"Please! No! Don't!" Mai cried. Suddenly, Naru and the others burst into the room.

"What's happening?" Ayako cried, running to Mai. Naru quickly followed.

"I don't know. She just fell, and started saying no… I don't understand." Takara said, letting go of her shoulders. Mai slumped a little bit. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her fists clenched. She started to rock back and forth.

"_You know who I am now. You k now what I can do. What I WILL do to you. But for now, I want you to feel this…"_

Mai let out a short scream as pain filled her body. Everyone was startled. Naru bent down so he was face to face with her. She stayed silent, shaking violently. Finally, she was still.

Then she opened her eyes.

They were bright red, the colour of blood. She smiled.

"Enjoy." She said. Except it wasn't Mai's voice. It was a man's voice.

…

Mai had then collapsed, and returned to what they hoped was a normal state. She had woken up a few minutes later, and could remember everything.

"I don't understand why you couldn't hear him." She glanced at Takara, who shrugged, giving her a weak smile.

"Something you should know." Ayako said, staring at Takara, "Mai is targeted a lot." He looked worried.

"I'm getting a headache." Ayako groaned, leaning back on the sofa. She rubbed her temples, shutting her eyes.

"Me too." Mai agreed, also shutting her eyes and leaning back. Naru watched them both with interest. Was there a connection?

The door opened, and Keiko came in.

"I'm getting an awful headache… Anyway, I heard what happened to you, Mai. He talked to you, didn't he? Threatened you?" She asked, putting a hand to her head as she spoke.

"Yeah. He told me how he was going to kill my." Mai sighed.

"I think… I think we need to a background check on this house." Naru said, staring at the three women. "None of you are to be alone. Ever. I think I know what's going on here, but I'm not sure."

…

Takara smiled and took Mai's hand. She wrenched it away quickly. Takara's smile dropped and he looked away.

Neither of them talked. Mai made a small awkward turtle sign.

"That's stupid." Takara said, glaring at her. "And immature." Mai flinched.

"When did you become so hostile?" She said, glaring back. He smiled, and darkly chuckled. She became nervous. What was wrong with the normally fun locing teenager?

She looked into his eyes for a second. A flash of red.

_No. It can't be-_

But Takara's hand had covered her mouth. She couldn't scream. She tried to fight, but he was much stronger than her.

"I told you that I would find you."

_Oh God. It's- It's that man's voice. Oh God, oh God, no!" _Mai thought, struggling as he pushed her against the wall.

"No!" She managed to cry.

"Now now, Mai. I want to take this slow, but-" Takara looked around. "I can't possess this boy for much longer. So I think for now-" He leaned in, grazing his lips against hers. She tried to push him away. His hand grabbed her waist.

"I might just enjoy-" His lips trailed down her jaw.

"Naru!" Mai screamed, finally wrenching his hand away. "Help! He's poss-" Takara slapped her across the face. Hard.

"I didn't want you to do that." He growled. He pulled her back and rammed her head into the wall. Mai cried out in pain.

"I'm going to leave now. Trust me, I'll be back." He muttered. Suddenly, Takara's body went limp, and she couldn't hold his weight. They crashed to the floor, Takara on top of Mai, their legs intertwined. He was unconscious.

Mai struggled against him, but he was too heavy. Suddenly, Naru ran into the hallway. He picked up Takara and rammed him against the wall, waking him up.

"What did you do?" He shouted. "What did you do to her? Who are you?" Takara moaned, and opened his eyes.

"What- oh, Naru. It's you."

"Don't push me, boy. I will hurt you." Naru growled.

"Whoa!" Takara threw him a nervous smile, putting up his hands. "I didn't do anything!" Naru pulled his fist back.

"Naru!" Mai managed to cry, sitting up a little bit. "He's not possessed anymore!" She coughed, and fell to the floor. Naru dropped Takara and went to her side.

"What did he do to you?" He asked, helping her up. "Did he hurt you?" Mai coughed again.

"He-" He slapped me. But then-" A tear ran down her cheek. "Naru, I thought he was going to- to-" She couldn't bring herself to say it. She wasn't able to repeat his actions, the half kiss, the hand on the waist. She choked on her words. Naru pulled her close to him, putting his arms round her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He muttered. He turned his head and glared at Takara, who was looking shocked.

"Go back to your room." He growled. Takara nodded, and fled from the scene.

They sat there for a few minutes, until Mai stopped crying.

…

"We need to exorcise this man. Fast." Naru said, glancing at Mai. She was on the sofa, sleeping.

"He is a threat to only woman of this house. I need more background checks on him, though."

Little did they know, this man was listening to their every word. And he already had a plan. A plan that involved Mai.

**Ta da! Cliffhanger! Don't worry, I'm taking my notebook on this trip. SO I'll keep on writing :3**

**Anyway, I think this might only be two parts. I do like me some horror :D**

**See you guys in a week! **


	14. Case 3: The Man in the Walls, Part 2

**I'm sorry this is so late – in Spain I had NO time to write. Sorry but I'll work hard on this, promise! Also, my exams are in two weeks, so expect quite a large delay then. Sorry, but I kind of don't want to fail lol :P**

**Chapter 14, Case 3: The Man in the Walls, Part 2**

"Everyone! I can't find Mai!" Ayako cried, busting into the room. Naru's head shot up, the pen falling from his now motionless hand. It only took a second for him to think of what could have been happening to her, at the hands of… That man.

"I'm sorry, Naru." Ayako sighed, lowering her voice, leaning against the door frame, staring at the floor. "You asked me to look after her… One minute she was there, the next, she was gone."

…

"Mai? Mai!" Monk cried, shining his torch around the kitchen. Nope, she wasn't here either. Still, he checked all the cabinets and under the table, even though he knew she wouldn't be there.

He sighed, and turned, walking quickly back to the base. Once there, he found everyone else.

"I couldn't find her. Naru, it seems that she's not in the house. But why would he take her out of it?" He said, staring at the narcissist.

Naru was thinking very hard. This man, like any other spirit, was staying in this house for a reason. Otherwise he would have passed on. This was the place where he had unfinished business. However, he seemed like a particularly violent spirit, so he may not have unfinished business. HE may just be continuing some kind of tradition or ritual…

He shook his head, standing up straight. (he had been leaning against his desk).

"I do not believe we should proceed to searching outside the house. Lin, I need blueprints of the house."

…

It didn't take the team long to cover every available surface with blueprints which Keiko had given them. They hadn't told her about Mai – they didn't want her to do something stupid like call the police.

"I don't see it." John said, staring at the blueprint in front of him. "There's no secret room or passageway, no underground bunker… That is, if it's mapped here." He added quietly.

Naru glared at the blueprints. They weren't helping him at all. The more time they wasted, the more likely Mai was injured, or worse d-

No. Naru couldn't even think of it.

Suddenly, he had an idea. Without a word, he left the room. The only person to follow was Lin. Soon enough he reached Keiko's room. He knocked, and went in.

"Keiko. I apologise for disturbing you at this hour, but I need to ask you something." He stepped in, Lin following him like a shadow.

"Of course, ." Keiko replied, smiling. "Would you like to sit down?"

"I'm afraid I do not have time. Was there anything else you hadn't mentioned? Any other paranormal activity… Such as knocking on the walls?" Keiko's head flew up at Naru's words.

"How did you know that? I thought it wasn't something important… It almost sounded like someone was in the walls. It scared me a bit, I have to say. But I thought it was just regular paranormal activity…" She muttered, staring at him. Naru nodded.

"Thank you. That's all I need to know."

…

"Why are you keeping me here?" Mai whispered into the darkness. The walls touched her at either side. She had a few cuts and bruises, but nothing too bad.

"For fun, really…" The voice chuckled. "It does get a bit boring in this house, you know. But now that I've got fresh meat…" A ghostly breeze stroked the side of Mai's face. She shuddered, and cringed away.

"No one can save you, Mai Taniyama. Not even your precious Naru… But now, I need to go get… Someone." The voice carried away into the distance. Mai put her head in her hands and let a tear fall.

…

"Everyone, I know where Mai is. She's in this house." Everyone gasped.

"How? No one found her…" Ayako said, staring at Naru and Lin with wide eyes.

"We believe that the walls here are hollow." Lin explained coolly. "We think that they're wide enough for a small adult or teenager to fit in. Someone like… Mai." The others stayed silent.

"How do we get in?" Monk asked, trying to control his voice. He was afraid for Mai, almost more than Naru. It was a big brother thing.

"I think there's an entrance in the hallway. That's where Mai went missing, right?" Naru turned and looked at Ayako, who nodded numbly.

"Okay. Look for large pieces of furniture, something that could conceal a hole big enough to get someone through." Naru said, turning and walking out of the room. The window caught his eye. Dawn was breaking over the horizon.

…

"Well, hello Mai." This time a real hand stroked her face. She held back a scream. A small whimper escaped her lips, as tears pooled in her eyes.

"No. Not you. Please. No." She whispered, staring up into Takara's eyes. He smiled back, his hand trailing down her neck, resting on her shoulder. HE leaned in, and kneeled in front of her. He was carrying a blade in the other hand. HE took it and pressed it against her cheek gently. Mai couldn't move. They were both breathing heavily; she could fell his cool breath on her face.

He smiled again, and pressed it harder against her cheek. It sliced through the flesh, and blood started to pourout of the wound. Takara took the knife away, still smiling. A tear escaped Mai's left eye, which rolled into the cut. He leaned in, and softly licked some of the blood away.

"You're a physco." Mai whispered.

"Don't call me that!" Takara cried angrily, landed a blow onto her other side of her face. The power of it knocked Mai back, so she was lying on the cold, hard ground. She whimpered again as he crawled on top of her.

"Now… I have to punish you." He whispered. Slowly, Takara leaned in, and touched his lips to hers.

…

"I found it!" John cried. "Help me move it! It's behind this sofa!" Lin and Monk ran to him, and helped him push it away. Behind the piece of furniture was a dark hole. The wallpaper was torn and shredded away, hanging away in loose strips over some parts of the hole. Lin pulled out some flashlights and handed them to each of them.

"Which way do we go?" Ayako asked, peering into the darkness. Suddenly, they heard a faint scream.

"Stop! Please, stop!" The voice cried. It was very faint.

"Mai!" Monk cried. They ran in, turning to the left (which was where they heard the voice coming from). Monk went first, then Naru, Lin, John and finally, Ayako.

They ran as fast as they could, following the screams of pain.

…

"Stop!" Mai cried, as the blade touched her skin for what seemed was the hundredth time. Takara had covered her body in little cuts, especially her stomach, through her clothing, which was stained a dark red.

"Shut up!" Takara replied angrily, concentrating on his knife.

"Help, me N-" Takara brought his fist to Mai's face again. She was stunned for a few seconds. Takara leaned up to her face, and brought his blade to her lips, making a small cut there. He leaned in and kissed her again, more violently this time. His hand that was not holding his knife went to her hair as Mai thrashed around underneath him weakly. She was loosing blood fast, and he was strong.

When he pulled away, they were both gasping for air. It was impossible for Mai to scream again.

"Why – are – you – doing - this?" She gasped in between each heavy breath. Takara leaned away from her, bring his blade back to her legs. She sucked the air between her teeth as he began to cut her again. It was a while before he answered.

"They laughed at me. All the women. They said I was ugly, and weird. A freak. A freak who lived in the weird, creepy house-" A shudder went through Takara, and he paused with his knife. He slowly looked up at Mai. "A physco." He rasped in a new voice. Mai screamed when she saw his vace. His eyes were red, his face covered in cuts that were black from the dried blood. Takara made an inhuman noise, it sounded like a growl – and brought the knife to Mai's throat.

"I told you not to-"

"MAI!" Monk cried, kicking Takara in the back of the head, who immediately slumped on top of Mai, unconscious. She started to scream, and couldn't stop. His knife was still pressed to her throat.

Naru shoved past monk with difficulty (it was very tight) and picked up Takara's limp body. He threw him forwards, so he wasn't near Mai anymore. She satred up into his face, still letting out small, half screams. He covered her mouth with his hand, grimacing as he brought the flashlight to her face, noticing the cuts, her body covered in dry blood. She stared up at his face, quieting.

"It's okay, Mai. It's alright. We found you." He whispered, not breaking eye contact. Suddenly, Takara stirred behind Mai, who screamed.

"He's awake! Oh god, stop him! Stop!" For a brief second, horrible images filled Mai's mind, of Takara killing her. A voice sounded in her head, and it wasn't Takara's.

_This is what could have happened. WILL happen. _The voice snarled.

That was when she blacked out.

…

Mai woke, as usual, in a hospital. She groaned, not opening her eyes, moving around in her bed. Her body felt funny – all tight. She only opened her eyes when a cool hand touched her forehead.

"Mai." Naru's voice was quiet. He had dark, bruised circles under his eyes. His hair was a mess, his clothes looked slightly dishevelled. And still he looked amazing. Mai sighed, and closed her eyes again.

"Why does my body feel weird?" She whispered.

"You're… bandaged up. To help your… Injuries." Naru replied.

"Oh." She whispered back, relaxing into her pillow. So she wasn't paralysed or anything. It took her a few minutes to speak again.

"What happened?"

"When you blacked out, Takara woke up. He tried to attack us, but he was weak-"

"Naru!" Monk threw the door open, walking in, his hands in his pockets. He smiled at Mai, and then glared at Naru.

"You promised you'd tell me when she woke up. I'm not letting you have your own little scene with her this time." Monk pulled a chair up to the bed. "What he means is, that my ninja kick was so amazing, he could barely twitch a finger. Naturally." He added, smiling, watching for Mai's reacting. She smiled back and giggled a little bit, but stopped because it hurt her stomach.

"_Anyway_." Naru emphasised the word, glaring at Monk. "We exorcised the spirit from Takara, who is also here, recovering from head injuries-"

"Ninja kicks." Monk corrected him, winking at Mai, who couldn't help but giggle again. She flinched from the pain, and Naru noticed, who glared at monk again.

"If you're going to be here, I'd rather you didn't hurt my Mai." He growled. Then, Mai swore she could see a small pink blush rise on his pale cheeks. Before Monk could reply to the 'my' Naru carried on.

"We didn't get a name, but we discovered he was a middle aged man who lived alone in this house. The women of the town made fun of him because of how ugly and scary he was. It drove him insane, to the point of suicidal thoughts. However, he was in an accident – of what we're not sure and was covered in multiple lacerations. He died from both internal and external bleeding before anyone found him. He wasn't even admitted to hospital." Naru watched her closely for a reaction. Tears pooled in Mai's eyes. This was what he had talked to her about. Suicidal thoughts? No one came to look for him… He wasn't even admitted to hospital… A small choking sound came from her throat. Monk nodded at Naru, and left the room with a sigh.

…

**I can't be bothered to write anymore. I'm sorry guys DX Oh and I'm sorry this is so late :(**

**See ya soon – maybe even tomorrow ;)**


	15. Case 3: The Man in the Walls, Part 3

**Kudfglkfdjg I'M BACK! My exams are overrrrrrr~ **

**I already got some results back – I'm doing okay so far apart from in Chemistry… :L**

**Anyway, back to ghost hunt. First thank you for your patience, I appreciate it. And secondly, thank you for everyone who have favourited this story or commented or whatever… :)**

**Behold – the next chapter :P I don't own Ghost Hunt… *dies* **

**Chapter 15, Case 3: The Man in the Walls, Part 4**

Mai drained her glass of water and put it into the sink. She was still at Keiko's house, as was the rest of the team. They were packing up, but Naru wouldn't let Mai help, due to her injuries, even though she insisted she was fine now. Only a few bruises were visible, and a few faint pink lines covered her body.

Takara walked in, and smiled when he saw Mai.

"Hey." He said, leaning on the counter next to her. "What's up? You look kind of miserable." Mai smiled and shook her head, looking at her feet.

"Oh… It's just that I wanted to help the others pack up, but Naru wouldn't let me… So I came here, because I was so bored." She said. Takara chuckled.

"So basically, you're feeling useless right now." He replied. Mai nodded, glancing at him. He was staring at her, a grin plastered on his face.

"Yeah."

An awkward silence followed.

…

Naru sighed as he shut the doors to the van. He needed to find Mai, bid farewell to Keiko and her family, and then the team could go.

He began walking to the house, thinking about what had happened on this case. It seemed inevitable for Mai to get in trouble. Then again… It did always help them solve the case.

Naru shook his head. That was an awful thought, using Mai like that. All he could really care about was her safety.

And then his mind wandered to what he had said days before…

Why had he called her, '_my_ Mai'? He did not own her. He did not feel possessive towards her in that way. It wasn't really like that; it was more like…

Naru was struggling inside his own head. He couldn't come to terms with the feelings that had risen up in the past three cases – maybe even before them. But now it was amplified.

And finally, Naru decided to tell Mai. About how he felt. How conflicted he was, how to make sense of it all.

…

"Hey, Mai." Takara said suddenly. "I know this is sudden, but… It doesn't take long for someone to decide how they feel about someone else. And… I haven't have had a lot of time to decide how I feel… But…"

…

Naru rounded a corner, and heard some voices coming from the kitchen, he headed in that direction, but paused outside, listening to the conversation inside.

"I really like you, Mai. Your fun going attitude, the way you smile, everything." Naru froze. Who was that speaking?

"W-what, Takara?" Mai. _His _Mai. And Takara. Naru was suddenly filled with anger. This boy had no right to do this. How dare he.

…

Mai blushed, staring at Takra.

"W-what, Takara?" She stuttered.

"You heard me. I like you. Don't you like me?" He asked, taking her hand. Naru stopped breathing for a second. What would she say?

"I…I'm sorry, Takara. I think you're nice, but… I love someone else." Mai whispered, releasing his hand. Takara smiled good naturedly, but I was furious. I had never felt so angry. There was someone else? Who was he? How dare he-

Naru turned around and stomped back to the van wordlessly.

"It's your boss, right? I can see why." Takara said, smiling. Mai blushed an even deeper red than before, looking at her shoes.

"Come on, Mai, I can see it."

"Get in." Naru growled, staring straight away. The team had already said goodbye to Keiko and her family. Mai reluctantly stepped into the back of the van, sitting down beside a monitor. Ayako and Monk were in a different car, and John was in the back with her, with Lin and Naru in the front.

~ ten minutes later ~

"Naru, slow down." Lin ordered. "We'll crash."

It was raining heavily, and hard to see out the front window. Naru was still angry.

"I'm thinking." He shot back. Lin pressed his lips together in a tight line and decided not to argue.

Naru stared at Mai for a few seconds. She shivered slightly, arms crossed.

"Naru, lets go inside." She said, shivering again. NAru stared at her for a second, then gave a short nod.

As she turned away-

"Mai." Naru said softly. She turned, surprised by the tone of his voice.

"I…" Naru was fighting a battle inside his head. He wanted to ask about what happened between her and Takara, but that would not only reveal how he felt about her, but also that he had been listening in on their conversation.

Naru mentally shook his head. _Not now. _

"Make some tea when we get in."

Mai scowled and turned away, stomping up to the door. She let herself in.

Naru sighed, and looked around him. When would he ever learn to express his feelings?

**I don't know why this was so hard to write. Maybe cos I've been away from fanfiction for so long…. :'(**


	16. Chapter 16  Phone Calls

**I'm so happy to be writing this again :3**

**Well, as I mentioned a while ago, 'The Man in the Walls' was the last case. So from now till the end, *sob sob* I'll be doing what will basically be little stories of Naru and Mai… Until he finally confesses…**

**I have already planned how it will happen! **

**Chapter 16 – Phone Calls**

Mai sighed.

"I don't know. It's all so confusing. He just doesn't _get _these kind of things." She said, twisting a piece of hair in her hands.

"_Well, from what I've heard, I'd say he likes you."_ Micheru replied. "I don't understand why you don't just ask him out."

"Well, what if he says no?"

Naru had been fuming in his office for a while now. He could hear Mai pretty well – and she was talking about that boy she had mentioned during the last case.

He _loathed _this boy.

Finally, he couldn't take it any more. He opened his door, and walked *stomped* over to Mai. She had her back to him. He placed a hand on her shoulder, making her jump.

"N-naru!" She cried. Naru could hear Micheru giggling on the end of the phone. What was there to laugh about him placing a hand on her shoulder. She started to say something, but Mai quickly ended the call, blushing.

"Jeez, don't surprise me like that! What do you want?" She demanded, crossing her arms, glaring at him.

"You should be working, not gossiping to your friends. Make me some tea, then file some papers. They're on my desk." Naru turned and walked back into his office, slamming the door behind him.

"What's his problem?" Mai muttered, getting up. She stuck her head into Lin's office on her way to the kitchen.

"Lin, do you want some tea?" He nodded, and she left, knowing that that was the best response she could get from him.

She made the tea fairly quickly, and went first to Lin's office. She set the cup down on his desk, and received a thank you. She was just about to leave when he spoke.

"Mai." She turned, shocked. Lin almost never spoke to her, and when he did, it was only when necessary.

"Hai, Lin?" She asked, still not getting over the fact that _she was having a conversation with Lin. _

"I heard you on the phone earlier. And if it was about who I thought it was… I'm fairly sure he feels the same way about you." And with that, Lin went back to his computer, ending the conversation. Mai turned and left the room, a little shaky. What had that been all about? How could he have heard her conversation? And that… That phone call was about…

No. It wasn't possible. Naru would never feel the same way as her. Lin must have thought he was someone else.

_But he doesn't know any guys who know you apart from Naru/Monk/John. _A voice whispered inside her head.

Mai set the remaining two tea cups down on the kitchen counter, and thought about it.

John was a priest, so that ruled him out. Monk was more like a brother to her, and she thought he liked Ayako…

NO.

_Nonononononono_

Mai shook her head frantically. That was wrong. Lin was wrong. Lin hadn't meant him. She must have imagined the whole thing.

"Wake up, Mai." She muttered, clutching the kitchen counter edge tightly.

"Oh, hi, Hikaru!" Mai said, closing the door behind her. Naru sat up straight in his chair. Who was on the phone to Mai now?

"U-uh… Now's not a good time, I'm at work…" His assistant stammered, sipping her cup of tea.

"_Oh come on Mai, I know you work at a laid back place."_ Hikaru laughed back. "_C'mon, just for five minutes?"_ He said. Mai smiled, sitting on one of the sofas in the main room.

"Alright, Hikaru, but only because it's you." Mai sipped her tea, staring out the window.

WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?

Naru had his ear pressed against the door, listening intently. Was this the boy she mentioned before?

Naru listened for as long as he dared, as the pair chatted about various things. Stupid things. Unnecessary things.

Suddenly, Lin opened the door. Without knocking, and therefore not giving Naru a warning –

Bang.

Naru nearly fell over, staggering backwards.

Lin raised his eyebrows as Naru angrily rubbed his forehead.

"What is it, Lin?" He asked angrily. Lin stared at him for a moment, then back at Mai.

"Look, Naru. You can fix this. Just tell her, get her off the phone. But tell her." Lin said quickly as he dumped some papers on Naru's desk, who stared at him as he left.

_What the Hell was that about?_

Naru stepped out of his office shakily. Obviously, Lin had meant Mai. He'd said 'tell her'. Tell her what?

But Naru found himself moving to her side. Mai didn't notice, and continued chatting away to Hikaru.

Naru waited a few secons, watching Mai. He could see the back of her creamy neck, the light brown short hair that was so shiny… He wanted to touch it, to smell it.

_No._

Naru mentally shook himself.

"Oh. Well, when would you like to go?" Mai speaking made Naru flinch. He had been used to the silence.

Naru brought his lips to her ear and whispered,

"tea."

"Wha-Naru!" Mai dropped the phone, which she scrambled to pick up, and hastily said goodbye to Hikaru, and turned to Naru.

"What the hell was that?" She cried, throwing her arms up in exasperation.

"I wanted tea." Naru said slowly, like she was stupid. "And I decided to mess with your head." And once again that day, he turned and sauntered back to his office without waiting for a reply.

Mai was stunned for a second. Finally, she got up and heated some water.

As it boiled, so did her anger. What right did Naru have to go messing with her like that? It was completely unprofessional to say the least.

Naru leaned against his desk, using his hands to support him, staring at the wall opposite.

Lin had said 'tell her'.

What was he meant to say? Naru knew what Lin was talking about, but he knew something Lin didn't - there was someone else.

So when Naru had leaned forward, a thought skittered through his mind - what if he did tell her? What would happen?

And then he had pulled himself back to reality; and asked her for that simplistic thing,

Tea.

The door opened, and Mai stomped in. She angrily set the cup of tea town on the desk, refusing to look at her boss. Neither of them said anything.

The tea sloshed around inside its cup, and spilt a little, running down the sides.

Drip, drip, drip.

Mai turned and left, slamming the door behind her.

_Wouldn't be the first time._

The moment was over, but the argument wasn't.

What could Naru do to fix it?

At the end of the day, a much dreaded car ride was carried out. It was raining, only adding to their moods. They were both silent for the whole thing.

Mai didn't say anything when she walked through the door, or when she put her shoes to the side, nor when she boiled the water, and practically threw the cup in his face.

And she turned and went into her bedroom, once again slamming the door.

Naru put his head in his hands, thinking. The steam from the tea rose and produced a bead of sweat on his face. He moved so that he was standing by the window, which was an entire wall of glass. He sipped his tea as he looked out, enjoying the sun on his face. He looked down to below. The block of apartments owned a very small garden, just as wide as the building and a few metres back, maybe two or three. It was Tokyo after all.

He spotted some yellow flowers, an effort to brighten up the place. He decided what to do then, gulping down the last bit of his tea, setting it down on the table and leaving quickly out the door.

"Tea."

No 'I'm sorry' or 'please forgive me'. It was 'Tea.'

Mai stormed out of her room, and starting making the tea. Naru disappeared immediately. Mai didn't bother to look where he went – she didn't care to say the least.

He came back when the tea was done. Without another word from either of them, Mai went back to her room.

What was that?

That spot of yellow on her pink bedsheets?

It was…A flower?

With a note attatched?

_Sorry._

That was all it said. Mai allowed herself a smile, before smelling the flower. It was pretty, and had a sweet smell. She put it back down on the bed and practically bounded out of her bedroom.

She didn't say anything.

She just glomped him quickly so he wouldn't have a chance to react.

Naru awkwardly patted her back before pushing her away.

"Don't think this is a regular thing. And no-one will hear about this. Understood?" Mai nodded excitedly, her head bobbing up and down. Naru sighed and went into his room. Mai smiled after him, before going back to her room happily.

**There! I get that this is WAY overdue, but I've been busy and stuff. Yeah :3 this flower thing was xSapphirexRosesxFanx's idea :P Thanks, I felt this chapter needed something more than the phone call. **

**Poor clueless Naru :') See you guys soon hopefully! :D**

**BTW thanks for the reviews!**


	17. NOTE

**Hello everyone… I understand that it's been ages – WAY too long. See, the thing is, I lost the file for the last chapter, and I had written TONS, so I'm searching for it as fast as I can. If I can't find it though, I'll re write it… *le sigh* **

**Okay, I just thought I should let you guys know. Cya :( **


	18. Chapter 17 New Year

**Guess what I found! After all this time, and it was on my dad's laptop -.-**

**This is THE LAST EVER CHAPTER. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO D:**

**Okay, deep breaths. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this, or even taken the time to glance over a chapter or two. Especially those who have been here from the start. So... Enjoy!**

**Chapter 17 – New Years (Final Chapter)**

Mai stared out of the van window.

Another year.

But this was different.

This was the first ever time that she had spent New Year's with the team. Normally she would go out with Michiru's family or something. But this was so much better, really. She always felt sad because of how at New Year's, people's families got together, and she had no family. But that was then, and this was now, and she had a family. Shibuya Psychic Research.

FLASHBACK

"_See, they're having a firework show on this hill, here." Ayako said, pressing her finger to the map. "so, everyone will probably go this hill. So, if we go here, we'll have tons of space and the fireworks all to ourselves." _

_The others agreed heartily, smiling at one another._

"_I'll bring the Tayaki!"_

"_I get the Ramen!" _

_Suddenly, the happy cheers were interrupted by a certain narcissist. _

"_A few things." Naru said, glaring at Ayako. "Firstly, New Year's is on a work day. And secondly, it's an hour's drive there."_

"_Whoa. Hold on." Mai marched forwards, pointing an accusing finger at her boss. "No. No one will want to have some strangers in their house on New Year's day, even it was for a good reason like spiritual haunting. No one else will be working that day, it's a holiday! And who cares about the car ride? The fireworks will be worth it. And lastly... You need to get out more." Mai smiled triumphantly. She even got a few cheers from monk and Ayako. _

END OF FLASHBACK

"Hey Mai, why'd you look so moody?" Monk asked, touching her hair gently. Mai flinched, startled, looking around guiltily.

"Sorry, no reason."

"Well, this car ride is so boring..." Ayako looked up from painting her nails.

Mai stretched as she got out of the van, an action repeated by all the other members of the team (apart from Naru and Lin) as they spilled out from Ayako's car and the company's van.

"Don't you have a sore back, Naru?" Mai asked her boss timidly. He had been in a mood ever since the last time they spoke properly – which was when they had decided to come here.

The team got out the food and blankets after the girls scouted out a place from where they could get a good view of the fireworks.

"You're right, Ayako. We're all alone up here." Masako said, hiding her smile behind a kimono sleeve.

"Yeah, it's nice to have the place to ourselves." John agreed.

Small dots which could be identified as people were gathering on the surrounding hills.

As soon as the sun began to set, the food was eaten.

"This is really good!" Monk exclaimed, his mouth full,

"Thanks, we made it yesterday." The girls smiled and nodded.

"John helped too!" Mai added, putting her arm around John, who blushed and agreed quietly.

Naru twitched when Mai put her arm around John, even thought there was no need to be jealous. John was a monk, after all.

The food was most definitely good, although Naru would never admit that.

Mai slipped away from the others. She needed a moment alone, even though the fireworks were starting in five minutes.

She walked to the top of the hill, a blanket in her arms for in case she got cold. Once she reached the peak, she wrapped the blanket round her and sat down, staring up into the dark sky, accompanied by the big moon and the stars.

If you didn't count the sounds of the people around her, this place was quite quiet. And therefore peaceful.

Mai liked it up here; if it wasn't so far away, she would have visited it again.

"Mai."

For once, Mai didn't jump at the sound of his voice. Everything was so calm here.

Naru stayed standing.

"Why are you here?" He asked. Straight to the point. As always.

"I... I needed some time alone."

"Should I leave?"

"Oh! No, no, stay."

So Naru sat down next to her, legs crossed. It was such a casual pose, so unlike Naru.

They stayed silent for a while.

"There's a reason why I've been so... like this." Mai said quietly, beginning to answer the unspoken question.

"My... My mother died on New Year's Day. It was when I lost my last parent. And... I don't know how to feel about it. Not anymore. I mean, sure, there's sadness, but..."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

Naru shook his head.

"No, it's fine, Mai. It's okay for you to say that kind of thing once in a while."

The two people, the boy and the girl, man and woman, turned and looked at each other. They were close.

"Hey, you're cold." Mai noticed the goosebumps peeking out from under Naru's shirt at his wrist.

"Here." She wrapped the blanket round him, which pushed them together.

Neither minded, but neither realised what the other was feeling for them.

They looked back at each other, Mai smiling, Naru giving a look of calculation, analysing her.

_Psshhhhhht, wheeeee!_

The first firework exploded, raining red and gold lights on their faces, dancing on their skin.

Mai looked away from Naru's face, (a hard thing to do) and stared at it, mouth open.

"It's beautiful." She whispered.

Naru's POv

A split second to make a decision. In that moment the brain calculates a thousand possibilities which you analyse to find the most likely.

Normally, Kazuya Shibuya, Oliver Davis, would take a while to do this. Even though he was clever enough to do it in a second.

So it was irregular, out of the ordinary, for him to make this decision.

And it was one that would change his life forever.

"Yes." He whispered. "But not as beautiful as you."

A second firework flew into the sky, and as Mai's face turned towards him again, her mouth a large O, shaped from confusion, Naru could see the blue and silver light reflect off her skin.

His arm went around her shoulders, and pulled, turning her body towards him – his other hand went to her face cupping one side gently.

"Naru..." She whispered, large brown eyes staring up into his dark, black ones. He leaned in slowly, watching her eyelids flutter closed.

Mai's lips gently touched his, slowly. It was only a light brush, but it sent her heart going at a million miles an hour.

People talk about how, when having that kiss for the first time with the one you love, you see, or hear, fireworks. How convenient. But, despite the light show, she forgot about her surroundings – all she could feel was Naru's lips. Her mind was blank apart form that – just Naru. That was all.

They pulled away after a second or two. Naru rested his forehead against hers, exhaling sharply.

"Happy New Year." He whispered. Mai smiled, and leant away, to look at his face.

And for the second time in her career, Mai saw Naru smile.

**I can't believe it's over. Noooo! To be honest, as I was writing this, I was a bit choked up. It was probably because I was watching Revenge and there was some tense, slightly sad music going on in the background. **

**Anyway, I was thinking, I'm so sad about this ending, that I might do another chapter later on, or some kind of sequel, or prequel... Or just another ghost hunt story, perhaps one story for one huge case :) **

**Anyway, I'm rambling. Thank you to every single person who read this, who reviewed or who favourited. **

**Bye for now :) -K**


End file.
